Petrol theft expected to rise in Australia as police call for more CCTV and prepaid pumps

<p>Amid a surge in fuel prices and fear of shortages, SA police chief signals officers might stop investigating ‘drive-offs’ unless service stations install prepaid pumps</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2026/mar/22/australia-news-live-tropical-cyclone-narelle-south-australia-election-peter-malinauskas-labor-one-nation-chris-bowen-anthony-albanese-fuel-prices-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></p></li><li><p>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></p></li></ul><p>The rusty green fuel trailer hardly looks like it is worth stealing. But some time before 1 March it was hooked up to the back of a vehicle and taken from a property at Huntley, south of Orange, in the New South Wales central tablelands.</p><p>It was just another in a series of thefts that police across Australia are keeping a watchful eye on.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/mar/22/petrol-theft-expected-to-rise-in-australia-as-police-call-for-more-cctv-and-prepaid-pumps">Continue reading...</a>