Australian Oil Prices: independance vs incompetence

[nota]

These two 'letters to the editor' in a recent Bulletin magazine caught my eye

"The price we in Australia pay for fuel is set by OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries). The Fraser government signed the Oil Price Parity Agreement in 1978. Bass Strait oil is produced at $3 per barrel. We sell our oil under contract at $6 to $10 per barrrel and buy OPEC oil at $60 per barrel (predicted to go to $100). We export 523,000 barrels a day and import 530,000 barrels a day - a net import of 7000 barrrels a day - about what we need to import in heavy Arab crude for lubrication oil and greases. Not one drop of imported crude oil needs to go to the petrol pumps of Australia"

and another

"A lot of people can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here. There's a very simple answer: nobody bothered to check the oil. The reason for that is purely geographical. Our oil is located in Bass Strait, off the coast of Western Australia in the Indian Ocean, The Timor Sea and the Mereenie oil fields in Central Australia. Our dipsticks are located in Canberra"

Comments ..?

[henk4]

it is probably cheaper to ship Middle East Oil with flag-of-convenience tankers to the East Coast of Australia than to use Australian Flag and crewed tankers, which are required for so-called domestic transport. The Americans have the same problem, as their Jones Act requires cabotage trade to be carried out by American flagged (and built) tankers.

I presume that Bass strait exports are sold at world market prices, so the Australian or other Oil companies make a nice profit..

[johnnyperl]

Originally Posted by henk4

...with flag-of-convenience tankers...

wasn't this practice just banned? heard something about it on BBC World Service recently.

[charged]

Originally Posted by nota

These two 'letters to the editor' in a recent Bulletin magazine caught my eye

"The price we in Australia pay for fuel is set by OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries). The Fraser government signed the Oil Price Parity Agreement in 1978. Bass Strait oil is produced at $3 per barrel. We sell our oil under contract at $6 to $10 per barrrel and buy OPEC oil at $60 per barrel (predicted to go to $100). We export 523,000 barrels a day and import 530,000 barrels a day - a net import of 7000 barrrels a day - about what we need to import in heavy Arab crude for lubrication oil and greases. Not one drop of imported crude oil needs to go to the petrol pumps of Australia"

and another

"A lot of people can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here. There's a very simple answer: nobody bothered to check the oil. The reason for that is purely geographical. Our oil is located in Bass Strait, off the coast of Western Australia in the Indian Ocean, The Timor Sea and the Mereenie oil fields in Central Australia. Our dipsticks are located in Canberra"

Comments ..?

Won't matter NOTA with the new Industrial Relations laws, we will all be on $5 an hour and wont be able to afford cars, food, housing etc.
Gotta love Australia, we used to be the lucky country

[bucko]

Originally Posted by charged

Won't matter NOTA with the new Industrial Relations laws, we will all be on $5 an hour and wont be able to afford cars, food, housing etc.
Gotta love Australia, we used to be the lucky country

Good one !
Thanks for that logical, educated and well informed statement.

Pffft!!!

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Originally Posted by bucko

Good one !
Thanks for that logical, educated and well informed statement.

Pffft!!!

A Logical comment duly returned with another.......

It's a serious concern, especially for those who didn't want Howard in to office in the first place.

It's a sad state of affairs.

[Blue Supra]

Fuel has come down considerably lately. down from $1.33cpl to 1.17cpl is (in my eyes) a significant drop. if it gets stable around $1.15 i wont be complaining.

As for industrial relations laws well... im yet to be convinced either way. Im permanent and thats all that matters.

[charged]

Originally Posted by bucko

Good one !
Thanks for that logical, educated and well informed statement.

Pffft!!!

Pfft!!!! yourself, howard NEVER mentioned new IR laws at the last election, it was'nt even on the agenda. He scared the electorate into believing if Labour got in interest rates would rise. As if a political party can control interest rates. Bucko hope when your kids are old enough to work, they have a decent boss who will give them a fair go. We will see. If your so logical, well educated and informed tell me how the new IR laws will be an advantage for workers.I think your starting to believe the adverts on T.V telling us we will be much better off.I didnt vote for howard not because of his fiscal policy, but his moral policies. Pfft that bucko.

[Matra et Alpine]

Originally Posted by charged

As if a political party can control interest rates.

Only if they're in government
Then it's easy !!
Fiscal policy dictates money production and base lending rates through government bonds. Public spending programs too and all those public emplyees who's salary increases are decided by .... government

[SlickHolden]

Hey we will be the lucky country if we get rid of Howard lol.

Petrol prices here are $1.07L at the mo. Get your 4c off and it's $1.03L

[henk4]

Originally Posted by johnnyperl

wasn't this practice just banned? heard something about it on BBC World Service recently.

The largest fleets are still flyhing the flags of Panama, Liberia and the Marshall Islands....As long as the ships are in a good technical state that is perfectly allowed. And if you run them with Phlippino or Chinese crews, you pay a fraction of the salary for an Australian crew..... I am not fully aware about Australian manning rules, but I presume that an Australian flag vessel, entered in domestic trade should be fully Australian crewed.

[charged]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

Only if they're in government
Then it's easy !!
Fiscal policy dictates money production and base lending rates through government bonds. Public spending programs too and all those public emplyees who's salary increases are decided by .... government

True to a certain extent,if the economy is good,forgein debt isnt to high, but if world interest rates are low, normally the interest rates are low. At the moment the govt has a 14 billion surplus. All the govt is talking about tax cuts.Heaven forbid the govt puts that into public housing, infrastructure,health, eductation etc. The government has to give a little back to the people, pensioner's who are struggling to survive. Instead of trying to get 55yr old invalid pensioner back into the workforce by slashing and burning welfare payments. Fiscally howard's policies have increased revenue etc. Why does it have to come at such a high cost.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by charged

True to a certain extent,if the economy is good,forgein debt isnt to high, but if world interest rates are low, normally the interest rates are low. At the moment the govt has a 14 billion surplus. All the govt is talking about tax cuts.Heaven forbid the govt puts that into public housing, infrastructure,health, eductation etc. The government has to give a little back to the people, pensioner's who are struggling to survive. Instead of trying to get 55yr old invalid pensioner back into the workforce by slashing and burning welfare payments. Fiscally howard's policies have increased revenue etc. Why does it have to come at such a high cost.

yep, and the "rich" always perform the class act of complaining at the same time about high taxes and poor quality roads
The infrastructural negligence in the USA has already resulted in the levee breaking in Nola, the virtual demise of passenger rail transport and a road network with the standards of an average developing country. Of course lowering taxes had absolute priority.

[crisis]

Originally Posted by Blue Supra

Fuel has come down considerably lately. down from $1.33cpl to 1.17cpl is (in my eyes) a significant drop. if it gets stable around $1.15 i wont be complaining.

As for industrial relations laws well... im yet to be convinced either way. Im permanent and thats all that matters.

$1.09 today. I suppose I should be happy.

[crisis]

Originally Posted by henk4

yep, and the "rich" always perform the class act of complaining at the same time about high taxes and poor quality roads
The infrastructural negligence in the USA has already resulted in the levee breaking in Nola, the virtual demise of passenger rail transport and a road network with the standards of an average developing country. Of course lowering taxes had absolute priority.

Well our State and Federal governments can’t bleat about lack of revenue. We were assaulted by Howard’s GST in 1999 which sent a stream of revenue to the states. Poker machines in this state and others have been generating exponential income “ The South Australian Government collected $62 578 000 in gaming machine taxation in the first year 1992. Since 1994 gaming machine losses have increased by an average of around $50 000 000 per year and now account for over half of total gambling losses in this state, more than all other forms of gambling combined."

Add to this the ever increasing amount of money sucked up by speeding cameras and the state governments clever idea to reduce the speed limit from 60kmh to 50kmh in built up areas to catch more dollars. This one is particularly impressive seeing that 20 years ago it was safe for me to drive a 1963 EK Holden (you don’t want to know) at 60 kmh around the suburbs with impunity. Drum brakes, optional seatbelts, marginal handling (trust me with this one Fleet) no airbags or crumple zones (again) and less pedestrian friendly in the case of an impact. Now my 3 tonne Landcruiser can stop and handles better never mind average sedans and we need to go slower?

Ok, where was I? The high tax poor road doesn’t wash. We have never had more taxes, levies and other ways to extract money from our pockets (by the way all our utilities were sold off too so the government doesn’t support any of them anymore) yet we have some of the most lethal country roads around. Fuel taxes, stamp duty on rego and insurance and the purchase of a motor vehicle (each time it changes hands) as well as the fines are all motorist related windfalls so the money should channel back somehow.By the politicians and Polices own admission (not to mention the stats) the country areas are the worst. Indeed no one has ever died from travelling at 60kmh in a 50kmh zone (yet this is where all the money comes from) yet we have single lane 100kmh main roads to our regional areas, roads with large trees on the verge (because they are 100 years old and there arent any other trees in Australia) and numerous other black spots that are managed by mereley telling us so.

So cut our tax and fix our fkin roads you dead beat liars.