Venting Some Frustration

[bluesky4me]

Sorry to disagree...Petrol=Goods. So should have %10 GSt on it like everything else(should)...as far as I am concerned the Govt is nothing more that a legalised organised crime syndicate..they take whatever they think they can get away with...not what is moraly right...So what is "stamp duty"????...nothing more than a standover bully boy taxe. At least real crims only extort money once...

Plan B : Buy a shit box...take the plates off...and use it fill up.. do a runner from the servo..transfer fuel from shitbox to luxury turbo wagon!

Plan C: Hijack petrol tanker and leave in the back yard untill empy.(may need to hide it under a tarp so as not to alert passers by)

[RubyRS4]

I don't think there's a lot the government can do. Oil is expensive, which makes petrol expensive. it's expensive all over the world, there's not a lot the australian government can do to reduce the price by any substantial amount. any reductions are just bandaid solutions. bring on higher fuel costs, it makes renewable technologies more feasable.

Yes. And boycotting petrol stations achieves NOTHING. Australia makes up f**k all of the Asian fuel market ... so the oil companies don't care. The Oceanic region needs to work together to have any affect.

What we really need to do is reduce our RELIANCE on fuel. Anyone who has studied first year economics would know all this.

[Lil_Bobby_260]

Not buying fuel from a specific retailer does stuff all. like i said, they dont even make 5c/l off of it, barely enough to cover the cost of tank maintenance.

[rb26stagea]

....and by boycotting a certain brand (even if enough people did it) just hurts the poor bastard who owns the servo, and makes it attractive to the big guys (Coles etc)... doesn't just achieve nothing constructive, it hurts the poor franchisee...

[000DNK]

petrol is bad i admit but i am thankful that our petrol has not gone over $1.60 yet its always hanging around the $1.54 or early in the week its around $1.49 mark.

[Lil_Bobby_260]

i was working thismorning and took the call to change our prices from 137.9 to 154.9 for ULP. Premo went up to 164.9. hard to justify a 17 cent increase overnight... the reason the fuel prices change so often, tho, is a mixture of competition from other retailers, and how much it is going to cost the station to replace the fuel currently being sold out of the tanks. You are paying for what your fuel was BOUGHT for, your paying how much it costs for the retailer to fill that portion of their tank back up.

[66yostagea]

The idea of boycoting individual petrol companies is a great idea...I came up with it about a year ago ..when the dumb idea of not buying petrol for a day was thunk up by some the sphincter of the universe...It is a viable way for "people power" to work....the thought of mister sevice staiont man sitting all day...not collecting any money...really makes me feel good..spread the word and decide on the first oil company and a start date.

ps. I really do want the glory for this one when it goes down.

There is a further problem that a boycot generates.

We have an art gallery on Mt. Tamborine. We need people to drive to the Mountain so we can make sufficient income to provide sustinance for our two teenagers.

If peeps dont by fuel we are farked. So are a lot of families with similar situations.

There is a solution to Aus dilemma. Start using our own oil and gas reserves to serve our needs.

I seem to recall that Labor Govts used to Nationalise various industries for the "good of the common people"

There is a way, but the path is treacherous. (I had to look that one up in the dictionary)

[GTR-32U]

Sorry to disagree...Petrol=Goods. So should have %10 GSt on it like everything else(should)...as far as I am concerned the Govt is nothing more that a legalised organised crime syndicate..they take whatever they think they can get away with...not what is moraly right...So what is "stamp duty"????...nothing more than a standover bully boy taxe. At least real crims only extort money once...

Plan B : Buy a shit box...take the plates off...and use it fill up.. do a runner from the servo..transfer fuel from shitbox to luxury turbo wagon!

Plan C: Hijack petrol tanker and leave in the back yard untill empy.(may need to hide it under a tarp so as not to alert passers by)

right on....somebody hit the nail right on the head....Stamp duty.....By far the biggest rip off of all time..No wonder why the real estate market is dead as a doornail..Abolish Stamp duty or at least reduce it and watch the real estate market come alive...So many poor renters doing it tough...well.Get off your butt and buy a house ! simple...oh no that means they cant afford repayments on other things like Brand new 6 Ltr V8 SS Commodore, Plasma TV, surround sound....Ooops looks like I started my rant...

[Lil_Bobby_260]

i think that if the 38c/l exise and then 10% gst on fuel went TOWARDS something like funding the development of aussie oil dips and refineries etc, people wouldnt be so pissed off at prices, being that there is something productive being done about it, and there is a clear, logical reason for the tax that relates to how we pay it. tolls = building bridges (gateway etc), fuel tax should equal developing a means for cheaper/more economical fuel solutions. This would also generate aussie jobs.

[Unicorn Rider]

hey, you guys are kind of lucky over there in Australia.

I'm paying 171 australian cents per litre of premium gas here in Japan.

3 months ago, it was 135, but the twerps decided to raise the taxes again.

My Stagea yelds some 5 km/l in the city and some 8 Km/l on the road, so im having a hard time over here, hehe

[rb26stagea]

makes up for how cheap you get your cars

[Unicorn Rider]

makes up for how cheap you get your cars

hum, you got a point there.

But is still damn expensive! heheh

[thedriver]

We don't need to remove the GST on petrol, we need to start weaning Australia off its oil addiction, with a recovery plan -

- massive federal investment in public transport

- laws for dramatically more efficient cars

- more efficient, cleaner fuels

- and an Emissions Trading Scheme which includes transport

Tell your MP you want far-sighted, low-carbon transport solutions now:

check out the GetUp - FixTransportand help make a difference.

[Ska]

I just got this email, and it has some good points in it:

Fuel: The Mass Debate Or How to Knock About 50c a Litre Off the Price Of Fuel

First and foremost this debate should be centred on Diesel NOT Unleaded. Why? You may ask. Just look at the increase in supermarket prices for your answer. While it may cost you $5 or $10 extra to fill your tank everything that is transported (which is everything) rises as Diesel rises. My average basket at the supermarket per week has increased on average $30 and that’s for one person. Australia’s whole economy is tied to Diesel and therefore it should be afforded the same priority and status as water i.e. an essential commodity.

I own a small transport company and I have had to significantly raise my prices twice in the past year just to maintain profit margins. This cost you money too.

I am compelled to write this letter because I am sick of all the namby-pamby pussyfooting around everyone seems to be doing about the current fuel debate. I have spent considerable time researching this area because it affects my income. Contained herein is the WHOLE truth about the debate, the WHOLE big picture, if you will. NO-ONE till now has had the testicular fortitude to stick their necks out and present the WHOLE argument about just how much we are being RIPPED OFF. If you want the truth and the WHOLE truth read on.

DON’T – Listen to spin doctors from the oil companies. THEY HAVE A VESTED INTREST TO KEEP FUEL PRICES HIGH.

DON’T – Listen to the government – state or federal. THEY HAVE A VESTED INTREST TO KEEP FUEL PRICES HIGH.

DON’T – pay too much attention to news or current affairs programs. THEY HAVE THEIR OWN AGENDAS.

So here we go, how to make fuel cheaper!

FIRSTLY – DISBAND FUEL PARITY

Parity, for those that don’t know, is government sanctioned price fixing (simple as that). Parity allows fuel companies to sell their products for the highest current price they find in the Asia Pacific region. It completely disregards supply and demand economics and eliminates any need for competition amongst themselves.

Don’t believe me? Just look at the price of Diesel. If you remember growing up when Diesel was always 10-15c p/l cheaper than Petrol you might understand this more.

How can a product that costs far less to produce (partially a by-product of producing Unleaded as well) and a product that Australia uses more of than any other fuel be MORE EXPENSIVE than Unleaded? Simple, ring Singapore, where they don’t use a lot of Diesel and import all their fuel, find out how much it’s selling for there and charge the same here – sound fair? NOT!

Any other industry who tried this one would be hauled of to the High Court quick smart and prosecuted for price fixing! Oh but hang on, our government ALLOWS them to do this

NUMBER TWO – BARRELL PRICE

That price the news loves to show us each night is the PREMIUM GRADE crude oil price. Australian oil companies DO NOT buy PREMIUM GRADE crude oil! In fact Australia produces around 70% of its own oil and imports about 30%. The cost of production per litre produced here is cheaper than that of imported fuel, but in no way is this factored into the pump price, because they don’t need to (SEE PARITY ABOVE) we pay a pump price based on PREMIUM GRADE crude oil price the same as if we imported all of it, say somewhere like Singapore! Starting to get the picture?

NUMBER THREE – LEVIES

Everyone knows that both State and Federal Governments take a large slice of the cost of a litre of fuel. This equates in total to about 46% of the price per litre. This money is used for infrastructure, road trauma etc. etc. so fair enough right? WRONG!

What is wrong is that it is a PERCENATGE! Look at this. If a litre of fuel costs $1.00 then the Government gets 46c p/l, right? A week later fuel rises to $1.10 p/l; the Government gets 50.6c p/l, bingo! Something tells me that in one week, their costs, IN NO WAY have gone up 9%!

As I stated previously – THE GOVERNMENT HAS A VESTED INTREST TO KEEP FUEL PRICES HIGH. THEY MAKE LOTS MORE FREE MONEY! Why else do they allow fuel companies to maintain PARITY?

If they changed the tax (sorry, levy) to a flat rate tied to the GDP then the fuel price would drop drastically and immediately!

NUMBER FOUR – GST - THE DOUBLE DIPP

Now this one is outright “THIEVERY” and also applies to cigarettes and alcohol.

GST = Goods and Services Tax, correct?

46% or 46c in every dollar in the price of a litre of fuel is TAX (sorry; again, LEVY).

What part of LEVY is a good or a service? YOU CANNOT TAX, TAX RIGHT? WRONG!

You do the math.

Say fuel costs $1.00 p/l – the GST component = 9c

But hang on a minute 46% or 46c of this is TAX! i.e., 4.14c of the GST is ILLEGALLY CHARGED ON THE TAX COMPONENT! Not much you say?

FOR EVERY LITRE SOLD IN AUSTRALIA EVERY DAY!

That equates to millions of free dollars for the Government! I’ll say it one more time - THE GOVERNMENT HAS A VESTED INTREST TO KEEP FUEL PRICES HIGH. THEY MAKE LOTS MORE FREE MONEY!

The GST on fuel should be 5.4% not 10%. At $1.75 p/l this would drop the current price by around 8c p/l.

Feeling a little annoyed? You should be!

Even without disbanding parity and introducing real competition among fuel companies, you should be paying about 40c less per litre!

My name is Graeme Strempel, ([email protected]) and I run a small transport business, I happily welcome anyone, Government and fuel companies included to prove me wrong.

If you feel strongly about this issue then pass this missive on to everyone in your address book. Eventually someone might take notice.

[RubyRS4]

And that, folks, ends today's economic lecture!

[thedriver]

Thought I might also point out two articles in the news today about more efficeint fuel / vehicle choices:

1. Rudd torpedoes main adviser in 'green car' plans - from The Age

2. Iemma: We'll buy first Aussie hybrid car - from News.com

This is exactly the kind of momentum I mentioned is required by governments to help push us along in the right direction. I hope soemthing can happen as a result.

Ska - unfortunately, there's a few floors in the pricing / import / export argument that you were sent.

- In an economic market, if you had the capability to produce a product and sell it cheaper than everyone else (but still sell the same amount), but everyone else it selling it for more (the market value) why would you undercut your profit margin and sell it at a lower price? Hence the barrel price for oil determines the price Australian produced oil can be sold for, why would you sell it for less.

- The GST double dipping debate rages on, but GST is charged on everything sold in Australia. The point of GST is tohave the same rate of tax on all goods and services, if you want to change the GST rate on fuel we may as well go back to the old system were we had different rates of tax on all products.

- removing the governemtn fuel excise (levy) will massively reduce the amount of money the government earns each year. Then who do we turn to for funding of schools, roads, forests, etc?

Keep upping the price of fuel and we might learn that we need an alternative source for our fuel!

[Kranker]

Slightly off the point, but unless we fix the problems with current fuel pricing, the same things will happen once alternative fuels come into play.

Doesnt matter if we switch to hydrogen combution (good), or hydrogen fuel cells (ghey), or helium-3 from the moon (not sure on this one yet) or whatever by 20XX,

the same companies who were selling us petrol and deisel will be selling us alternative fuels.

And they will do exactly the same stuffing around with prices that they are doing at the moment.

Hybrid cars are a joke, a complete gimic, not an answer to the worlds problems. You get better economy for a diesel Golf.

Gov needs to pull its finger out and step in for the aussie consumer, dont know how, but they just do.

Who knows, they may even create even more employement because with cheaper fuel the aussie car companies will probably be selling more large cars, thus creating more local jobs...maybe...

They dont need to tax fuel at all....they make plenty of money from the pokies anyway haha.

Had my little rant...calm now.

[66yostagea]

Just a bit on Carbon debits and credits.

Cows, sheep, cops etc. all fart gasses with C in them.

How do we calculate our plusses and minuses???????

[Ska]

[Lil_Bobby_260]

nice pic cy hahaha

like the argument you were sent too.

I for one am sick of hearing about fuel... i wor full timeat autobarn and 15-10 hours a week at a shell petrol station - ALL I HEAR IS COMPLAINTS ABOUT PETROL PRICING that i dont even respond when people mention it to me anymore... i just smile and take their money.