Us country folk are still paying close to $1.20 per litre and that is only as of this week.

Without meaning to sound too ungrateful, because we all acknowledge the obvious and welcome fall in prices that has occurred over recent months, you can't help but wonder why prior to Thursday most outlets across the Stawell region were still selling petrol for above $1.20 a litre.

Motorists have quite rightly had enough and it would appear the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has too.

As part of the ACCC's new approach to monitoring and analysing fuel markets, this year it will look closely at three regional locations to understand their level of petrol prices in more detail.

One wonders whether the Wimmera could be one of those regions that goes under the microscope given the price drop in regional and rural areas has been far from gushing and at best a trickle.

The bare facts are that since July 2014 the price of US crude oil has fallen to below $50 a barrel, less than half of what it was six months ago.

Fuel retailers can claim they have been passing on the decrease of costs in full, yet the release of comprehensive ACCC research has shown otherwise.

The research revealed that between the beginning of July 2014 and early January 2015 the monthly average retail price of petrol in regional locations across Australia rose from 5.7 cents per litre to a staggering 17.6 cents per litre above prices in the country's five largest cities.

Whether something sinister is at play or us country folk are just barking up the wrong tree, hopefully this latest push by the ACCC will provide us with some answers.

In the meantime if you have information that a fuel retailer is not competing fairly please contact the ACCC.

- Ben Kimber