Thanks for making Al Qaida a swing producer guys!
Petrol prices set to rise as oil hits high
Australia's cash-strapped households and fuel-dependent businesses are about to feel the pain of even higher petrol costs after the price of crude oil soared to a new high.
The spike has again forced Prime Minister John Howard to defend the size of the federal tax grab on petrol, saying consumers would be paying even more if his government had not abolished the indexation for fuel excise.
Neglecting of course to point out that prices are so high in large part due to his visionary policy of destabilising the very parts of the world we rely on for energy. Hey, look over there! Interest rates!!
Crude oil prices hit a record $US68 ($90.10) a barrel today after the United States reported a fall in petrol stocks and China said its crude imports spiked in July, as strong demand on the mainland shows no signs of easing.
But economists have played down the likely impact of the price hike on consumer spending, saying the issue has been beaten up.
Access Economics director Chris Richardson said petrol makes up only about four per cent of the average household's spending.
"I've seen some pretty sloppy commentary in and around how important petrol prices are for the health of retail spending and I certainly don't think it's the main driver," he said.
Er, so how does Mr Richardson think that goods move from production site to market, magical fairies? Sheer force of Yoda-like will on the part of Gerard Henderson? Face facts. Everything we buy is made of oil, stored in oil and floated to shops on oil. The far reaching effects of high oil prices won't be as a result of people paying more for petrol. They'll be due to price increases passed on to consumers.
Mr Howard said despite the soaring petrol prices - around $1.30 a litre in many areas - the government's excise revenue had not risen because it was levied on the volume of petrol sold, not the price.
"I hate these high petrol prices but they are due to overseas forces beyond our control," Mr Howard told ABC radio.
I suppose in a sense that's an honest statement. When an arsonist sets fire to a house the resulting conflagration can truthfully be said to be a result of forces beyond his control.
"Every country in the world is suffering from these high prices. We cut excise several years ago and another very important thing is we abolished the automatic indexation of excise.
"If we hadn't done that petrol now would be even higher and people would have every right to say, 'well not only do we have to pay these insufferably high prices, but each year your proportionate share of what we pay for petrol is rising'."
Mr Howard also played down the effect on consumers, saying it may simply force some to alter their spending priorities.
Yes, food or petrol. How's that chauffered car working out for ya John? I bet he feels our pain.
Meanwhile in Queensland, the state government is setting up a parliamentary committee to examine issues surrounding the rising price of petrol.
Premier Peter Beattie said the Petrol Pricing Select Committee will investigate the impacts of current fuel prices, particularly in regional Queensland.
Are you serious? The people who voted for this? I find it positively delightful that the reams of National Party voters who legitimised the Hunt for Osama in Iraq will suffer disproportionately. And people say there is no god.
It will also consider the extent to which the price rises have increased the competitiveness of alternative fuel sources such as ethanol-blended fuel.
The committee will consist of 14 members and will report by March 31 next year.
AAP
In times of tumultuous change the people cry out for a visionary, a man who can scry the future in the entrails of disembowelled executives. That man is Nostradamurdoch.
Two and a half years ago, so spake the seer,
"The greatest thing to come out of this for the world economy, if you could put it that way, would be $20 a barrel for oil. That's bigger than any tax cut in any country."
Wednesday February 12, 2003, The Guardian
And verily the readers of the Australian were mightily impressed.
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