The man many Australians hope will provide relief from the pain at the pump made the comment during his visit to Wagga yesterday; his first major regional stop since taking up the position in February.

Despite Mr Walker admitting the days of 60 cents a litre petrol were a thing of the past, he said his role would be to make sure Australians paid as little for a trip to the bowser as possible.

While his assessment of the future seems grim, he remains convinced a nationwide FuelWatch scheme, similar to that running in Western Australia, will ease the pressure of fuel costs on Wagga families struggling with increases in interest rates, food costs and rates.

“FuelWatch will create transparency and competitive pressure so people can identify cheaper stations, which means other outlets have to compete or lose (sales) volume,” Mr Walker said.

“Even in country and regional centres (like Wagga) we find variations in price.

“(So) despite the world price of oil continuing to reach new highs, FuelWatch will help motorists find the cheapest fuel and the greatest savings.”

Mr Walker was upbeat after the three-and-a-half-hour meeting with local leaders, claiming a lot of ground had been covered.

He said the visit was largely to gain information, but not for the coming Senate inquiry.

“Wagga has long had a fuel watchdog committee (and) obviously a strong interest in fuel prices, so it was a useful exchange of information and ideas,” Mr Walker.

“There were no real surprises, but I think some consolidation of ideas and reinforcement of some of the issues and challenges involved.

“(There) was also a general appreciation that we do have high international oil prices, therefore the days of cheap petrol are probably over.”

“The challenge (now) is to make sure Australians aren’t paying a cent more for their petrol than they need too.”

The commissioner flew in from Melbourne to meet with local stakeholders at an invitation-only meeting held at the Wagga City Council meeting room.

Attendees included NSW Farmers Association vice-president Alan Brown, Councillor Rod Kendall, Cargill Beef’s Andrew Macpherson, CWA regional president Barbara Johnston, Fearnes Coaches general manager Bill Allen, NRMA director Graham Blight, independent fuel distributor Paul Seaman and Wagga Fuel Watch Committee members Edwin Brookes and Erwin Richter.