NSW Fair Trading Minister, Linda Burney, today expressed concern that a preliminary check by Fair Trading investigators has revealed that 24 per cent of service stations had their premium unleaded petrol bowsers closed on Tuesday.

Ms Burney said the unavailability of premium unleaded petrol at some service stations around Sydney yesterday on the cheapest petrol day of the week is a consumer scandal and she asked Fair Trading to find out the extent of the problem from NSW drivers.

“Fair Trading will be conducting an online survey and a phone hotline to capture consumer feedback on this important issue to identify exactly how widespread this is,” Ms Burney said.

“I will be contacting the new Petrol Commissioner with the results of the survey and asking him to investigate this as a matter of priority when he takes up the job.

“With many new and imported cars, as well as older models, requiring premium unleaded to operate at their best, it is outrageous that these car owners are being denied the price saving opportunity that other motorists can experience on a Tuesday.

“The purchase of petrol, and indeed other fuels, is a significant expenditure for most families. In many cases it is the second biggest weekly purchase after groceries.”

Ms Burney said the recent move of the new Rudd Government to appoint a Petrol Commissioner is to be applauded.

“I will be asking the Petrol Commissioner to identify if this reported availability issue is a genuine one and if it is being driven by greedy petrol companies and service station operators looking to maximise profit at the expense of their customers,” Ms Burney said.

“Even if the increase in cars requiring higher performance petrol is causing genuine supply problems, it is beyond belief that shortages just happen to fall on the day when petrol prices are usually at their lowest and can be resolved in time for the weekly price peak.”

The survey will run for 2 weeks on this website starting immediately. Responses can also be given over the phone, by calling 13 32 20.

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