What the press is saying about petrol, LPG, diesel, crude oil, biofuel etc.
(Click on the "News Article" link for the full story, opens in new window)
Caltex Australia agrees to purchase Mobil service stations
27/05/2009. Caltex Australia has entered into an agreement to acquire 302 Mobil service station sites.
Caltex Managing Director and CEO Des King: “Today, Caltex is primarily a wholesaler of fuel but a relatively small player in the retail fuel market when compared with Coles Express, Woolworths and BP. This acquisition will allow us to better compete in the retail fuel market with these major players.”
The Cheaper Petrol Party wants more players in the market, not less.
If Caltex took over Mobil's 302 service stations, the Caltex-Woolworths joint operation would own 44 per cent of retail outlets.
Today the average price of unleaded in Sydney is $1.136, crude oil is 48.4 AU cents/litre (taking into account the US/AU exchange rate) add 48.5 cents in tax, leaving a margin of 16.7 cents per litre, up from 10.6 cents per litre before the election and before the introduction of the Petrol Commissioner.
We urge the ACCC and the Petrol Commissioner to stand up for consumers who are being ripped off by the big oil companies. Stop the merger going ahead.
Perth Motorists Ripped-Off
31/03/2009. Perth motorists continue to pay the highest prices for LPG of any mainland capital city drivers in Australia.
Yesterday's average LPG price was lowest in Melbourne: 49.8 followed by Sydney: 54.7 and Brisbane and Adelaide 57.7.
Perth was the most expensive at 62.1. That’s 12.3 cents or 24% higher than Melbourne.
When questioned, Petrol Commissioner Joe Dimasi said LPG was "too minor" a fuel in Perth to scrutinize and the lack of a market was the reason prices went up.
It is beside the point whether the market is large or small. A rip-off is a rip-off.
Unleaded petrol was also the most expensive in Perth, $1.144. Seven cents more than the cheapest, Brisbane $1.072
Jobs at risk after Bushmaster exclusion
18/03/2009. In February 2009, the Government awarded a $40 million contract to an American company for the development of nine Joint Light Tactical Vehicle prototypes.
Defence contractor Thales, who builds the highly successful Bushmaster vehicle in Bendigo, was excluded.
The final contract will be for 1300 vehicles and is in excess of $1.3 Billion. It would support 250 direct jobs and hundreds more indirect jobs in Australia.
On the 12th of March, Senator Carr agreed, “The Bushmaster is a very fine vehicle. It is made by a group of people who are highly skilled. It is a highly innovative vehicle and it has saved many Australian lives. It is also being used in a number of military forces around the world.”
However, when asked “So why aren’t you supporting it?” He answered: “We are in the process of ensuring value for money”.
The Government may have reasons for its decision, but today it spent 20 min in parliament to stop the opposition from asking questions.
Why?
Volunteer Sacked For Swearing
10/03/2009. John Willis lost his job as captain of a Gippsland brigade for swearing on emergency radio during the Black Saturday bushfire crisis.
John was battling a fire that had already claimed 50% of his own dairy farm and was threatening a house.
The CFA said the firefighter, who has 40 years experience, (has travelled on his own time to hundreds of fires - in Victoria and interstate - and worked at car accidents, storms and other emergencies, saving countless lives) was stripped of his rank after at least two outbursts during last month's tragic inferno.
"He wasn't a suitable person to represent his brigade, let alone CFA in a senior role," Mr Hogan said. "He's got a history of that sort of behaviour."
In our opinion, when John is willing to put his own life on the line to save someone else or their property, he may swear to his heart’s content.
This volunteer was fighting fires, some deliberately lit, where flames four storeys high, raced across the land like a speeding train, wiping out towns within an hour and where so far 210 people died.
And he swore.
It is not as if he was doing a cooking show on national television.
10-03-2009 Volunteer Sacked For Swearing
04-03-2009 Gross Domestic Product shows first negative result in 8 years
13-02-2009 Victorian Bushfires
04-02-2009 RBA rate drop to 3.25%
31-01-2009 Victoria: No power, No Trains, No Water
30-01-2009 127
22-01-2009 Back to School
08-01-2009 “Green Holden” update
24-12-2008 $149 Million to build green Holden
12-12-2008 Tax Cut for Small Business - Smoke and Mirrors
08-12-2008 Surplus Virtually Gone
07-12-2008 Government Stimulus Payments
05-12-2008 Elective Surgery Summer Break
05-12-2008 Fuel tax will inflate grocery bill
03-12-2008 NSW hospitals are full, try Queensland
12-11-2008 FuelWatch dead and buried
29-10-2008 BP Quarterly Results - Profit up by 83%
29-10-2008 Excrement found in Dessert
24-10-2008 OPEC agrees to cut output by 1.5 million bpd
15-10-2008 Crude oil below $80 per barrel
08-10-2008 RBA cuts rates by 1% to 6.0%
11-09-2008 Crude Oil below $100 - Petrol higher
08-09-2008 Big Parties Big Losers this weekend.
30-07-2008 BP profits jump thanks to oil prices
27-07-2008 Ambulance strike with a difference
09-07-2008 PM Rudd: G8 made progress on climate talks
08-07-2008 G-8 endorses halving global emissions by 2050
04-07-2008 Prof Garnaut calls for urgent climate action
26-06-2008 Changes to NSW Road Rules
11-06-2008 Labor's $70 million hybrid gift to Toyota
07-06-2008 Rates blamed for house price dive
03-06-2008 Member calls for investigation into benefits and risks associated with genetically modified orgasms.
03-06-2008 Plan to drill for oil off NSW coast
25-05-2008 Government to review GST on Excise
16-05-2008 Wages, House Prices and Petrol
14-05-2008 Petrol likely to go to $1.65
14-05-2008 Budget 2008: “It’s about my house stupid!”
13-05-2008 BUDGET SPEECH 2008‑09
11-05-2008 Budget - Medicare levy surcharge
15-04-2008 Fuel Watch Scheme to apply as from 15th December 2008