ServoPro

Diesel hit a national average of 273.6c a litre last week, and independent distributors say they can't get their usual spot volumes at Sydney, Brisbane and Newcastle terminals. Canberra has extended its relaxed stockholding rules to January, and the US is weighing a diesel export ban. Why access to product, not just price, is now the question. Full article in the comments 👇

Four Bega Valley newsagencies shut for 90 days this week, Queensland closed 148 stores in ten days last summer, and in Melbourne insurers are now refusing cover to shops within about 20 metres of a to***conist. The enforcement map differs by state; the insurance market is drawing its own. Full article in the comments 👇

The Coalition wants fuel excise to halve automatically whenever oil sits above US$100 a barrel for two weeks: about 27c a litre, paid for by an 80% cut to to***co excise. Labor has ruled it out. What's new isn't the cut, it's the trigger, and for servos that changes how the next one would be managed. Full article in the comments 👇

Most armed hold-ups at a servo are over in under two minutes, and what happens in that time comes down to what your staff have been told beforehand. At most sites, that's nothing.

This week's article is the one-page procedure to have signed and rehearsed: the six behaviours during, the first ten minutes after, and the days that follow. ServoPro members: there's an armed robbery unit ready for every new starter. Full article in the comments 👇

The pay run fails, a staff member refuses the new time clock, a private matter ends up discussed at the pub. Policies earn their keep on the bad days, and by then it's too late to write them. This week's article covers the three staff policies every independent servo should have signed and filed before they're needed. Link to article in the comments 👇

Brisbane Airport has confirmed the city's first Costco, a $145 million warehouse opening late 2029, and it comes with a 34-bowser members-only fuel station. It's the first tenant in a new 51-hectare precinct opposite the International Terminal, and operators in the corridor have three years to prepare for a serious discount fuel player. Full story in the comments 👇

Viva Energy has posted its best-ever interim result: underlying profit up almost five-fold to $371.1 million, driven by the Geelong refinery as Middle East disruption pushed margins higher, even with the plant recovering from April's fire.

Retail earnings rose 86 per cent, and to***co sales have stopped falling for the first time since the illicit trade took hold. Full story in the comments 👇

Ampol has posted a record half-year profit of $1.36 billion, driven almost entirely by refining and trading as Middle East disruption pushed the Lytton refinery margin to US$28.26 a barrel. Retail earnings rose 12 per cent, the EG Australia acquisition is now complete, and the interim dividend is the largest in the company's history. Link to full story in the comments 👇

The most dangerous thing on a servo site is familiarity. Walk past the same compressor room every day and you stop seeing it. A five-minute weekly walk-through, written down every time, catches what familiar eyes miss. Link to full article in the comments 👇

Australian and Chinese authorities have broken a to***co smuggling syndicate, seizing more than 60 million ci******es worth over $92 million in evaded duty and arresting more than 60 people in China. The enforcement fight is increasingly happening before the containers reach Australia. Link to article in the comments 👇