Residents of the Coromandel town of Thames are fed up with the high price of petrol in their region, which they say is disproportionately high compared to nearby areas.

Fuel in the town costs between $2.91 and $2.96 per litre for 91 octane, 20-30 cents a litre more than nearby areas like Ngātea, or Tairua, which sit at around $2.69 a litre.

Several locals says they had started boycotting their gas stations, travelling out of town any time they needed to fill up their cars.

“It’s miles dearer than everywhere else. We don’t buy our fuel here and never will do,” says one.

“It’s ridiculous, and there’s no other word, it’s just plain theft,” says another.

Brendan Walsh lives near Thames, and his family work in the town.

He took to campaigning for lower fuel pieces on the local Facebook page, with a strong message for petrol companies.

“We’re going to keep up the pressure because there’s no way you guys should be ripping off a small place like Thames that has a lot of pensioners and beneficiaries in there. They struggle. So why are you not helping? You should be helping your community.”

Brendan Walsh has been campaigning for lower petrol prices. Photo / Luka Forman, RNZ.

He could not see any reason why fuel in Thames was more expensive than the rest of the Coromandel.

“I’ve done a little bit of homework, had a look around at all the other regions... even some of the places that are in some of the far-out hick towns in the middle of nowhere. They are actually selling petrol cheaper than what we are in Thames.”

Brendan says there was clearly something going on with fuel prices in the town, whether it was price fixing or simply the fuel companies being greedy.

“So far no-one... who owns these gas stations has come out publicly to justify why their prices are the highest in New Zealand.”

Price comparisons

There are four petrol stations in the Thames area.

According to price tracking app gaspy, as of Tuesday, BP in Thames, and its two Mobil stations were selling 91 octane fuel for $2.96 per litre, while the Gull offers $2.91.

That was not including discount cards.

The average price for 91 across the country was $2.67, roughly 30 cents less than the stations in Thames.

Gull in nearby Ngātea was selling 91 octane fuel for $2.69, while at the Z station in Ngātea it cost $2.75.

On the other side of the Peninsula, Gull in Tairua cost $2.67, while at Challenge Whangamata it cost $2.79.

Impact on Thames

Adrian Catran runs Twentymans Funeral Directors in Thames and is the chairperson of the community board.

He was concerned about what people shopping around for fuel would mean for businesses in Thames.

Adrian Catran, undertaker and Thames community board chair. Photo / Luka Forman, RNZ.

“Each time they go out of town to buy fuel, they do their shopping out of town. I was just talking to somebody the other day... who travels from here to Whangamatā to buy fuel and shop at Whangamatā New World. So that means the people at Thames miss out on that trade.”

He also felt for the many pensioners in Thames, who had to put up with the fuel prices that are on offer.

“Thames has more people over the age of 65 than any other town in New Zealand... that impacts on them because they have a fixed income and they just can’t shop around.”

Community movement

Local radio station Coromandel FM has run a campaign on the issue after local news manager John Freer noticed the price difference across the peninsula.

He says there was a huge response from the community online.

“Our social media and websites have just been running hot ever since we started the campaign. And the feedback is quite incredible, it’s well thought out. People know the issue here and they’ve simply had enough.”

He noted that in New Zealand’s fuel market, Gull and Waitomo were usually “price disruptors”, and drove the price down for the rest of the market.

“We do have Gull here in Thames, but they’re not doing that job. They’re not forcing the price down.

“So what we’re being told through the industry is until that price disruptor pushes their prices down, people in this town are still going to have to pay the inflated prices.”

An online petition - which will be sent to the Commerce Commission - has been set up by the community.

It has 634 signatures so far and a protest outside Thames’ petrol stations is planned for next month.

Petrol companies respond

RNZ’s Checkpoint contacted the three main petrol stations in Thames.

In a statement, BP says there were “numerous factors that influence prices”, and it reviewed prices every day to ensure the competitiveness of the market.

It says there were a number of independent BP operators around the country that set their own prices.

A spokesperson for Gull told Checkpoint that the store in Thames was owner-operated, so it set its own prices.

The owner of the Gull and the other three stations did not respond to requests for comment.

Checkpoint also contacted Mobil but did not receive a response.