Tasmania Petrol Prices Climb Again While Hobart Suburbs Sit Tight and the Rest of the State Pays Through the Nose

Right, so I spend most of my time banging on about prices around Sydney and the mainland, but today I reckon we need to have a yarn about what is going on down in Tasmania. Because fair dinkum, the numbers coming out of the Apple Isle this week are worth a proper look.

Here's the thing, right. Diesel across TAS has jumped 4.2 cents overnight to an average of 306.9 cents a litre. That puts it up there with Queensland and NSW as one of the biggest movers in the country today. But what really caught my eye is the spread. The cheapest diesel in Tassie is sitting at 264.9 cents while the most expensive is a whopping 369 cents. That is a 104 cent gap across one small state. You could fill up your ute at the right servo and save yourself close to fifty bucks on a full tank compared to the wrong one.

Now, if you are in Hobart, the good news is that competition is actually doing its job. Down in North Hobart, three servos are sitting between 294.9 and 299.9 cents for diesel, which is only a 5 cent spread. That is about as tight as you will see anywhere in the country. Same story over in Brighton where the range is 297.5 to 298.9 and Bridgewater where you are looking at 297.5 to 299.9. When servos are that close together on price, it means they are actually watching each other. That is competition working the way it should.

Launceston is telling a similar story up north. Four servos there are bunched between 297.5 and 298.9 cents for diesel. If you are filling up in Launnie you are basically paying the same no matter where you go, which takes the stress out of it. Over at St Helens on the east coast, you have got a slightly wider range of 296.9 to 302.9 but still nothing too dramatic.

So where is the pain coming from? It is the regional and remote servos pushing that state average up. Once you get away from the population centres and onto those longer stretches of highway between towns, you start seeing prices north of 330 and 340 cents. Some spots are pushing close to 370. That is the reality for anyone doing long trips through the midlands or the west coast.

Now, petrol prices for regular unleaded are following a similar pattern across Tassie. The cities are competitive but the further you drive from Hobart or Launceston, the more you are going to cop it. My advice if you are planning a road trip through Tassie this autumn is to fill up before you leave the city. Do not assume you will find a cheaper servo in some little town on the way. Chances are you will be paying 20 to 30 cents more a litre for the privilege of being in the middle of nowhere.

Compare that to the mainland and you start to see why Tassie deserves more attention. Over in Western Australia, diesel actually dropped 3.4 cents overnight to 308.3 average. Victoria barely moved, down less than a cent. Meanwhile NSW diesel climbed 4.2 cents to 315.2 average, which is not great but at least we have got the volume of servos to keep competition honest in the suburbs.

The ACT is worth a mention too because Canberra continues to be one of the tightest markets in the country. Eighteen diesel stations sit within a 16 cent band from 297.5 to 313.9 cents. When you have only got a handful of servos they tend to watch each other like hawks.

Back to Tassie though, because that 104 cent spread is the real story. It is not quite as wild as the Northern Territory where you have got a 252 cent gap between the cheapest and most expensive diesel, but for a state you can drive across in a few hours it is a big number. It tells you that isolation and transport costs are still hammering regional communities even when the cities are getting reasonable deals.

Worth keeping an eye on Tassie over the next few weeks. With diesel trending up across the eastern states and autumn demand picking up, those regional servos are not going to get cheaper any time soon. If you are down that way, stick to the Hobart and Launceston servos where the competition keeps things honest.

Look, end of the day, a bit of planning means more cash in your pocket for the important stuff. Fill up in the city, check your prices before you hit the road, and do not get caught out paying 370 cents at some highway servo when you could have topped up for under 300 back in town. Can't argue with that.