AUSTRALIA GAS STATIONS CALL FOR TOUGHER STANCE ON PETROL THIEVES

September 27, 2013
NACS Online

The Australian Association of Convenience Stores has been asking the state government for stricter penalties for drive-offs.

​MELBOURNE, Victoria – Those who steal petrol should lose their driver’s license or demerit points, say gasoline station owners. Those fuel bandits cost service station owners close to $40 million annually, the Herald Sun reports.

The Australian Association of Convenience Stores (AACS) has been trying to get the Victorian government and local law enforcement to give more attention to fuel thefts. The push comes after a new law, which went into effect July 1, allowing Victoria police to not look into drive-offs unless direct evidence indicated a criminal offense, such as stolen license plates or stolen car, was used in the theft.

Peter Anderson, director of APCO, which runs 18 service stations, said in recent weeks, there has been more fuel thefts. “I can’t understand how Victoria Police can do this. Fuel theft is a crime,” he said. Anderson proposed immediate fines and losing six demerit points—recoverable once the culprit paid for the fuel. “Let’s not mess around — we’re taking about hurting small businesses here,” he said.

Gasoline stations owners are losing thousands of dollars monthly because of drive-offs, said Jeff Rogut, CEO of the association. Rogut would like to see fuel thieves receive suspended licenses.

However, the Victorian police said that drive-offs take to much police time. “We need to put our resources where they are most needed and reduce the amount of time police members spend working on petrol drive-offs, especially when a large number should be treated as civil matters,” said Kevin Sheridan, operational support superintendent.

Sheridan instead said that gasoline stations should install pay-at-the-pump technology to reduce drive-offs, which the government also proposes. Rogut countered that prepaid systems would curb the number of people coming into the stores and thus lower service station owners’ profits.