28/09/2026
⛽ DIESEL AT $2.91/L — WHERE DOES THE MONEY ACTUALLY GO?
With diesel sitting around $2.91 a litre in Port Lincoln, I thought I'd actually have a look at the figures rather than simply blame the local servo.
As of today, the average Adelaide wholesale terminal-gate price for diesel is already $2.651/L.
So before it's even transported across to Port Lincoln and sold at the bowser, it's already costing around $2.65/L wholesale.
The current Federal Government fuel excise is 53.7¢ per litre, and that's already built into the wholesale price.
Then you've got freight to Port Lincoln, storage, wages, electricity, rent, card fees and all the other costs of actually running a service station — plus, obviously, the business still needs to make a profit.
At $2.91/L, the difference between the Adelaide wholesale price and what we're paying locally is around 26¢ per litre.
Importantly, that 26¢ isn't the servo's profit.
So perhaps the question isn't simply why the local servo is charging $2.91.
The bigger question is:
When diesel gets this expensive, should the Federal Government look at cutting the 53.7¢ per litre fuel excise again to give motorists, farmers, tradies and businesses some relief?
They've done it before.
Interested to hear people's thoughts — particularly from those in transport, farming and other industries where fuel is a major cost. ⛽🇦🇺
