In short:
The western Victorian town of Horsham, home to about 20,000 people, no longer has a service station with an operational LPG bowser.
asserted
town → have → bowser
Residents who rely on LPG fuel say the shutdown now means they'll have to travel to Warracknabeal to fill up — a 120km round trip.
asserted
they → rely → trip
Experts say this may be the end of LPG bowsers in Horsham.
uncertain
this → say → Horsham
When Barry Nuttal's truck runs low on fuel, he has two options: drive a 120-kilometre round trip to the nearest LPG bowser, or fill up with petrol, which is more expensive.
asserted
which → run → petrol
Mr Nuttal lives in Horsham, a town of about 20,000 people on the Western Highway in the Wimmera region of western Victoria, about 300 kilometres from Melbourne.
asserted
Nuttal → live → Melbourne
The last service station in town selling LPG went into receivership this week, leaving drivers with nowhere to fill up.
Mr Nuttal's dual-fuel truck runs on both LPG and petrol, but he said driving to Warracknabeal, almost 60 kilometres away, to fill up was not economical.
asserted
driving → sell → Warracknabeal
"By the time you go up there you're running low, and by the time you come back, you're running low," he said.
asserted
he → go → time
LPG sales in Victoria have suffered a steep decline in recent years, dropping from 1.9 billion litres in 2011 to 242 million litres in 2025.
asserted
sales → suffer → 2025
Mr Nuttal said friends had recently paid "a couple of thousand dollars" to convert their vehicles to gas to save money, and now "they can't fill up with gas at all in Horsham".
asserted
they → say → Horsham
"It was a saving, that's why it was done, now they take it away," he said.
asserted
he → do → it
Dale Pickering, whose car relies solely on LPG, said once he had driven to Warracknabeal and back, gas would cost him the same as petrol.
asserted
gas → rely → petrol
"It seems ridiculous that we have over 20,000 people in the surrounding area and plenty of cars on gas," he said.
asserted
he → seem → gas
Kylie Holliday said she had not realised there was no LPG in town.
asserted
she → say → town
"I've got to go out of town now and I didn't realise that and I've got quarter of a tank of gas and I don't know whether I can make it to the next town,"she said.
asserted
I → get → town,"she
"I was thinking of getting my best friend to follow me to Stawell, so I could get gas just in case I run out."
uncertain
I → think → case
BP Australia has been contacted for comment.
asserted
Australia → contact → comment
Falling demand for LPG
The number of LPG vehicles in Australia has fallen from about 500,000 in 2013 to 200,000, according to ELGAS.
uncertain
number → fall → ELGAS
Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association CEO, Rowan Lee, said demand for LPG had fallen as LPG cars left the fleet, and service station owners were generally not replacing tanks when they wore out.
asserted
they → say → tanks
"What they're replacing them with is car parks and so on, which will probably return the greater profit, because people come in and buy goods from the store" he said.
asserted
he → replace → store
Mr Lee said it was "highly unlikely" the situation would be fixed in Horsham.
asserted
situation → say → Horsham
"It's really unfortunate for those people who are using LPG, and generally it's elderly people running older cars,"he said.
asserted
it → use → LPG
Wimmera mechanic David Hateley, who has been a licensed LPG fitter for more than 30 years, said low-income drivers would be hit hardest.
asserted
drivers → say → years
"There's a lot of people out there with good old cars that have still got plenty of life left in them but you're going to see them get put off the road now because there's no LPG," he said.
asserted
he → be → road
Mr Hateley said drivers of dedicated LPG cars would arrive expecting a town the size of Horsham to have LPG.
asserted
town → say → LPG
"And when they get here they're going to need a tow truck to get into the next town,"he said.
asserted
they → get → town,"he
Federal member for the Mallee Anne Webster said she understood Horsham residents' frustration.
asserted
she → say → frustration
She said individual service stations were entitled to make commercial decisions about the fuel they provided.
asserted
they → say → fuel
Horsham Rural City Council said the situation had not been raised with it.
asserted
situation → say → it
The Aporia