Insane Petrol prices

[Barrykgerdes]

Funny thing. The people who complain loudest about the petrol price (and diesel) are the ones who "just can't do without their big gas guzzlers".

For 30 years I used big cars and paid a lot to run them. Then I got a small car and found I could still do the same things at half the cost. The amount of money I spent on big cars would have bought me a house in the same time it took to pay of the HP on the car. My first car cost 1000 pounds and the HP took 80% of my weekly pay.

As I said before the price of petrol is cosiderably less relatively, goes further and better quality (does anyone remember pool petrol that we had during the war) now than what it was when I first became addicted to a car.

Barry

16 to go

[peter_4059 (Peter)]

everything you ever wanted to know about petrol and diesel prices in Australia :

http://www.aip.com.au/index.htm

and the World:
http://www.aip.com.au/pricing/internationalprices.htm

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Hagar

I'm done, getting angry, Time to quit.

bet your not

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Barry,

you seem to complain a lot about the size of peoples vehicles and how they waste fuel.
How much fuel will be used up to fly you around the world? and to your 'Flower Show'?


If you want to drive a small car and use Public Transport, go for it. That's your choice. But get of everyone else's back just so you can get your post count up, and aggrevate others in the process to achieve those extra posts.
It's called Trolling and is against the TOS.

1. Trolling
The most essential part of trolling is convincing your victim that either a) you truly believe in what you are saying, no matter how outrageous, or b) give your victim malicious instructions, under the guise of help, or c) argue your side just to get a reaction and cause an inflamed reaction


In our town we have NO public transport. NONE!

[Irish stargazer (John)]

Originally Posted by AndrewJ

Yeah, but even at that price it still only takes $2 to drive across Holland

Andrew

who drove across it in an hour in 1986

Hence all the bicycles ;

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

Barry,

you seem to complain a lot about the size of peoples vehicles and how they waste fuel.
How much fuel will be used up to fly you around the world? and to your 'Flower Show'?

Sorry Ken if I offended you but I don't see the connection about me taking and elderly lady flower lover to England has anything to do with the price of petrol in Victoria. I am using public transport.

Originally Posted by ballaratdragons

Barry,
If you want to drive a small car and use Public Transport, go for it. That's your choice. But get of everyone else's back just so you can get your post count up, and aggrevate others in the process to achieve those extra posts.
It's called Trolling and is against the TOS.

1. Trolling
The most essential part of trolling is convincing your victim that either a) you truly believe in what you are saying, no matter how outrageous, or b) give your victim malicious instructions, under the guise of help, or c) argue your side just to get a reaction and cause an inflamed reaction


In our town we have NO public transport. NONE!

Well for someone who has made 14000 posts in 7 years to my 2000 in five years seems an unusual comment.
As for public transport. Depends on viability for the area. Just because I decided that I could do in a small car what others need a large car for doesn't mean I am against large cars. I am just being rational.

As for no publc transport I can't comment without knowing where you live but surely you have a Taxi service and a method of going to the city.

Barry

[Poita (Peter)]

Originally Posted by Deeno

I'll let my neighbor know, across the road how well off and smug you guys are.

Getting a bit elderly now, she lost her husband a decade or more ago. Owning her own house and with a bit of a nest egg, she thought she would live out the rest of her days comfortably.

Well, the car went with the big jump (Charade) in fuel prices a couple of years ago and now relies on the dismal public transport system and the occasional lift.

I know with the last round of electricity price increases she is now turning off her hot water and is not using her oven. And we can expect more price rises in the near future.

She never complains and would never take a handout but, we keep an eye on her as her place is almost always dark. Hopefully she can afford to keep the place warm next winter.

If only we would look after our own......

If you really want to help her out, make a Centrelink booking for her, and get the ACAT team out to help her manage her finances and day to day living.
If she owns her own home, and has no debt, she should be able to live reasonably well in that area, and afford to run a car for local driving.
If she can't, then she isn't getting all the services she is entitled to.

I see many elderly people each week (I work part time in aged care) and many of them live with the lights off and don't run their heaters etc. because of an incorrect perception of the costs of doing so, (or because they have not sorted out their paperwork and are not getting the payments they are entitled to) when in actual fact they have enough to live fairly comfortably, and there are many services available to help them out in their homes.

There is no need for her to be living in the way you describe, the only people I see that own their own home that can't afford heating often have a gambling problem or another drain on their finances that can be addressed.

[Poita (Peter)]

Originally Posted by Omaroo

Let's see you car make it down my driveway in Cooma Barry.

There are many people who have a reasonable reason for owning a 4WD car, but the roads are literally clogged with them in the city. They aren't all boat/caravan/property owners.

I find the same thing, if you don't have a regular need (i.e. towing or access etc.) then it is way cheaper to own a smaller car, and hire a big one or pay a company when you need to move big stuff around.

There are plenty of people who should own a big car, but there are also so many that have no need and complain about the cost of doing so.

I live in a town where I can walk *anywhere* within 14 minutes, yet nearly every townie still drives to work every day, as a society generally we seem to have forgotten what our legs are for.

[Poita (Peter)]

Originally Posted by Hagar

And you had the cheek to winge about Andrew Bolt. The first 3 paragraphs might meet our lifestyle but certainly don't equate much to mine.
Everything I have I have had to work for, no Government help what so ever,no pensions, no payments, no nothing but allas living in a reasonably remote area where everything cost more (Freight they tell us) we have to factor in more each and every time there is a fuel hike. I have put 2 girls through University without an handouts what so ever, both had to live away from home but no subsidy was available for that. Most city kids can at least live at home while attending University, Not so in the country.

I'm done, getting angry, Time to quit.

People often forget that the government does subsidise a lot of things.
University for example, even if you pay full fees up front, the courses are still heavily subsidised by the government.
If they have ever had any medication, the PBS scheme has kept most of it at reasonable levels, and if you spend too much on medical in a year, the safety net kicks in. The roads (such as they are) you drive on, so much of the infrastructure, it is all 'Government Help'. We don't notice so much of it, as we take it for granted, spending some time in East Timor really made me realise how much we *do* have.

I live in the sticks as well, it does cost more on some levels, but I don't pay road tolls to get to work, it doesn't take me 45 minutes to find a park, I get relatively clear night skies and the air doesn't sting my eyes and make me phlegm up like it does every time I visit the city.
I don't have to sit in traffic and spend 45 minutes to get 15km to work. The nights are quiet and there are no planes screaming over my house like there was when I lived in Sydney.

Some things could be better, I still get cranky about how things are vs how they could be, but there is a price to pay wherever you live. In the city lots of things are cheaper, but the total cost of living per year is very high. In the US things are cheaper, but minimum wage is low, and an eye infection can cost you $300 to get fixed when it costs $15 here.

I still right letters to my local Pollies, I want many things improved, but I also have experienced how it can be where governments *really* don't help, and I know we are pretty bloody lucky here.

[Barrykgerdes]

Well said Peter

Most people complaining about the rising prices that they have to factor into the cost of living don't look rationally at their on going expenses. I have no bother with the rising prices as a pensioner. The increase in my pension has actually more than kept pace with the essentials of living.

The price of petrol won't do more than annoy me till its relative price passes $2.50/ltr. I planned my retirment at 30 and now nearing 80 would consider myself extremely well off from rational management of expenses. I budget all expenses for three years ahead factoring in the CPI adjustments and it is surprising how much you can save by doing without unecessary items.

Yes I gave up some expensive loves and replaced them with simpler things and am better off for it.

Barry

PS while I live in the city all my relatives live in the country. My Mother whose only income was the OAP lived in a retirement home in Narrabri, recently died (at 98) and had $70000 in the bank. Split 5 ways it still comes in usefull.

[TrevorW]

Government taxes comprise a fixed excise rate of 38.143 cents per litre on petrol and diesel plus GST of 10 per cent on the final retail price.
⇒ In 2010–11, the tax component (GST and fuel excise) of the retail price of petrol averaged about 38 per cent or 50 cents per litre. Payments to the Australian Government in 2010 (from fuel excise, GST on fuels and income tax) by AIP member companies was over $19 billion.

Gee how different would it be if they only applied GST

[strongmanmike (Michael)]

Originally Posted by Poita

and I know we are pretty bloody lucky here.

Have to say your various replies Peter are a breath of fresh air.

No one will be 100% happy 100% of the time and it so easy to get into a woe is me frame of mind and complain and blame governments (Local, State or Federal, Labor or Coalition).

In general the front line media likes to promote doom and gloom because that sells very well.

As I pointed out initially in this thread and regardless of your specific feelings of woe (and they may be quite legitimate feels of woe), when compared to the entire rest of the world, Australian governments (of both clours) coupled with how we are structured, have in general clearly been doing very well by its citizens across the board and for a while now.

We should pause, even just for a moment, to take this in. While it may not be perfect for everyone here, there are many others, doing it much tougher out there in the rest of the world.

Really not sure why this positive sentiment seems to cause such vitiolic attacks from some people?

Mike

[Barrykgerdes]

Originally Posted by strongmanmike

Have to say your various replies Peter are a breath of fresh air.

No one will be 100% happy 100% of the time and it so easy to get into a woe is me frame of mind and complain and blame governments (Local, State or Federal, Labor or Coalition).

In general the front line media likes to promote doom and gloom because that sells very well.

As I pointed out initially in this thread and regardless of your specific feelings of woe (and they may be quite legitimate feels of woe), when compared to the entire rest of the world, Australian governments (of both clours) coupled with how we are structured, have in general clearly been doing very well by its citizens across the board and for a while now.

We should pause, even just for a moment, to take this in. While it may not be perfect for everyone here, there are many others, doing it much tougher out there in the rest of the world.

Really not sure why this positive sentiment seems to cause such vitiolic attacks from some people?

Mike

Yes Mike a few are showing some rational thinking.

Try this scenario

Just bought a big gas guzzler to run around town because the price looked too good to be true "to keep up with the Jones" The price of gas increases to a level you can't afford. You owe 85% of the car price and it is only worth 50% of the cost price because everyone else wants to down size. You can't downsize. You are going broke. Of course you would be unhappy with the price of gas increasing so alarmingly. I reckon there are a lot of punters in this predicament.

Barry

[TrevorW]

Lets not forget that a lot of these 4WD vehicles are diesel which are more economical to run than petrol

Although I must agree is you don't need a large 4wd vehicle for access or towing then it's probably false economy.

Having a 4WD so Mary can run the 4 kids to private school in Vaucluse is not a wise move if you are thinking it's safer.

What is a waste of resources is the number of vehicles that only have one occupant and are driven to and from work without being used during the day.

[marki]

What I find funny here is the assumption that all 4wd vehicals are gas guzzlers. I own a 2011 Mitsubishi outlander which although not your hardcore off roader aquits itself well in most conditions. It has lots of space and sits high enough not to be bothered by larger vehicals blocking the line of sight to on coming traffic and has enough airbags to have kept the titanic afloat and sits very well on the road. Now I chose the little 2.4L petrol with the 5 speed manual as I wanted some economy and I hate automatics which is the only chose with the V6. The car whilst being no F1 certainly has enough punch to get out of trouble and is fun to drive (the 4WD helps lots here as it has far better traction thus is SAFER). The best bit however is that it returns a little over 9L/100km on the city cycle and 7.2L/100km on the country cycle. In a recent comparison with my folks doing some country driving, their 2.4L 2010 Honda Accord Euro auto could not get better then 9.3L/100km on the open road and they are not leadfoots (72 and 73 years young). The accord is much smaller and lower to the ground then the outlander but the winner is in the weight. The outlander is all ali from the windows up and this reduces the weight of the larger vehical significantly. This coupled with a motor that is tuned for real everyday driving (e.g. mid range torque~ 2000 - 4500 RPM range) vs the Honda with a semi race engine (8000RPM redline) makes all the difference. In short you can have a largish car which delivers reasonable economy, it just needs to be sensible in its design.


Mark

[AndrewJ]

Gday Mike

As I pointed out initially in this thread and regardless of your specific feelings of woe (and they may be quite legitimate feels of woe), when compared to the entire rest of the world, Australian governments (of both clours) coupled with how we are structured, have in general clearly been doing very well by its citizens across the board and for a while now.

Not sure i totally agree here.
Comparing ourselves to other countries is a furphy here.
I do think that in general, our "average" quality of life
has improved over time
but the "relative" improvement appears to be split badly.
We have also lost a huge amount of "amenity" in the process.
Some people really are going backwards relative to the median
and others are rocketing ahead.
If its not addressed, then those at the top of the pyramid
will have no one at the bottom to fleece anymore
and the economic model will fall apart.
Bernoulli understood it, but we dont seem to be able to grasp it.

Andrew