THE ban on big shopper docket petrol discounts is driving fuel prices to new highs, making a mockery of the competition chief’s claim that motorists would be better off, a respected policy analyst says.

The average petrol price in Sydney this year is 152.7c a litre, the highest since 2007, NRMA petrol tracking figures shows.

Aaron Lane, a reaserach fellow with the Institute of Public Affairs, said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s crackdown on Coles and Woolworths shopper dockets in December was driving prices higher.

“The shopper dockets actually increased competition as independent operators had to lower prices to compete,’’ Mr Lane said.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims brokered a deal to force the supermarket giants to limit shopper docket discounts to 4c a litre, saying he was concerned they were artificially inflating prices to factor in the discounts.

He also claimed the bigger discounts could squeeze independent operators out of the market, even though the ACCC’s research shows independents’ share of the market has trebled to 18 per cent over the past decade.

Mr Lane said he could not understand why the ACCC cracked down, as the shopper dockets were similar to other bundled loyalty programs offered by airlines, banks and department stores.

Australian National Retailers Association chief executive Margy Osmond said the ACCC should focus on “getting the best outcome for consumers”.

“Cutting shopper docket discounts doesn’t seem to have reduced petrol prices,’’ she said. “How in touch is the ACCC with consumers?”

But the ACCC is now ramping up its fight against the shopper dockets, taking Coles and Woolworths to court for allowing shoppers to receive discounts of 8c a litre if they make certain purchases in both supermarkets and petrol station convenience stores. A hearing is set for March 26 in the Federal Court in Sydney.

Mr Sims said the ACCC’s investigation clearly showed that when shopper docket discounts were above 4c-a-litre, independent operators did not compete by lowering prices because they could not afford it.

He said the investigation found that only 20 per cent of petrol buyers were using the dockets so 80 per cent of people ended up paying higher prices.

He said part of the reason for higher prices this year could be related to “petrol pricing cycles”, which the ACCC was now investigating.

Commsec also weighed in, pointing out average national petrol prices jumped 5c last week, despite there being “no similar sharp swings in world oil prices — particularly in Australian dollar terms”.

“It is hard to argue that the petrol discounting cycles on the eastern seaboard are acting in the interests of motorists,’’ Commsec said.

The NRMA, which supports the ACCC’s position, found prices this year have reached record levels in Newcastle (154c a litre), Wollongong (156c), Central Coast (152.3c), Canberra (158.3c) and regional NSW (161.2c).

The NRMA says prices tend to be lower in areas well served by independent operators such as Dubbo, Orange and Albury, while Canberra, which has no independent operators, is consistently more expensive.