Articles by Sarah Vogler

Queensland motorists caught texting behind the wheel more than once in 12 months will be hit with double demerit points.

From July 1, motorists will have the option of paying their rego by direct debit either every three months, six months or yearly.Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Jackie Trad said the changes would mean a reduction in fees for some vehicle owners."As part of the introduction of this new option, the Queensland Government will also reduce the surcharge for six-monthly registration fees from July 1, 2015," she said.Once enrolled in the scheme, customers no longer would have to manually pay their registration"Queenslanders will now be able to take these payment terms into account when managing their household budget."The surcharge on the present six-monthly bill will be reduced from a total of $34.70 for the combined CTP and registration surcharge to $25.20 - a saving of $9.50 - if the direct debit scheme is used.Those who choose to pay three-monthly will also be subject to a $25.20 surcharge.The direct debit option will initially be available only to light vehiclesAccording to the document supporting the change, the direct debit option would simplify registration renewals, as once enrolled in the scheme, customers no longer would have to manually pay their registration. Payments will be made automatically from nominated accounts."The reduction in existing surcharges will mean lower costs for motorists who choose to renew their vehicle registration for periods of less than one year," the document says.The direct debit option will initially be available only to light vehicles. Eligible purposes of use will include private, commercial, farm, limousine, special-purpose limousine, non-profit, taxi companies, peak-demand taxi and driver training or tuition.Opposition Transport spokesman Scott Emerson said he commissioned TMR to explore the idea of introducing direct debit for car rego."The question is what is Labor going to do in terms of rego itself," he said."We froze it throughout our three terms but under Labor...it went up by 30 per cent in three years."

Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls wants changes to the way fuel prices are monitored because Queenslanders pay up to 10¢ more a litre than other states.Mr Nicholls says he has written to the Commonwealth urging it to pressure the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to change the way it monitors wholesale fuel pricing and investigate why prices are higher here."We are concerned that Queenslanders are getting a raw deal on fuel prices and we need an explanation of why drivers here are being forced to pay more for their petrol," Mr Nicholls said.Motorists rightly question why they pay more to fill their tank here than in some other states"We're asking for the ACCC to institute an in-depth review of petrol pricing, starting in Queensland and focusing on both metropolitan and north Queensland markets."It should also look at whether there are any impediments to fuel price competition in Queensland." But he would not commit to bringing back the 8.4¢ a litre fuel subsidy scrapped by the Bligh government.The Opposition also refused to commit to bringing back the subsidy but said something needed to be done to address bowser inequity."Motorists rightly question why they pay more to fill their tank here than in some other states," an Opposition spokesman said. "What won't help is Tony Abbott's fuel tax, which he didn't tell anyone about prior to the last federal election." Across southeast Queensland, fuel prices have hit a four-year low - with the average price of unleaded in Brisbane yesterday sitting at $1.19 a litre, down 30¢ a litre on the same time last year.However motorists are still paying much more than in other states - $1.13 in Sydney and Melbourne and $1.10 in Adelaide.General manager of monitoring group FUELtrac, Geoff Trotter, said the dominance of Coles and Woolworths outlets was "pretty strong and they have chosen not to go as low as they have had to in other states".That had been exacerbated by the purchase of independent chains Matilda, Neumann and Choice by the global Puma Energy company, he said."You have what look like independents in Brisbane but they are owned by one large group which does not discount anywhere near as aggressively as when they were small independent groups." Puma declined to comment.In his letter to Federal Small Business Minister Bruce Billson, Mr Nicholls says the Government has concerns about the timing of cuts to the oil price being passed on to Queenslanders.Mr Nicholls said following the letter, Mr Billson had issued a directive to the ACCC to step up its monitoring. But he said he would continue lobbying to ensure the ACCC acted quickly.