Friday, August 18, 2006

That gas dilemma

Australians might be only slightly worse off at the gas pumps, by virtue of the fact that prices are set by the Singapore market. But it seems like a bigger political hot potato there than elsewhere.

PM Howard has been scrabbling for a politically acceptable approach to ameliorating the threat, which takes the form, at this stage, of committing almost $1.6 billion over eight years in a bid to give motorists cheaper fuel options. The program includes $677million to subsidise conversion of private vehicles to LPG.

There are also moves to provide incentives for gas stations to provide more ethanol-blended fuels.

A senior National Party (the junior coalition partner) figure says oil companies, not motorists, will be the big winners from the Howard Government's alternative fuels package.

Nationals Senate leader Ron Boswell said almost 87 per cent of the money John Howard has committed to programs to help motorists get cheaper fuels would benefit the oil industry.

This coming from a senior member of the government; Boswell said Shell, Caltex, BP and Mobil would be the big winners, not motorists struggling to pay $1.40 a litre for petrol. "The oil firms have not had to make one extra commitment about distributing alternative fuels to benefit from this package.”

Boswell said that with the possible exception of BP, the oil majors were stalling the advancement of alternative fuels other than LPG, for which they controlled both production and distribution.

To be fair, Boswell’s Nationals represent a rural constituency and at times actually speak up for it. But for Howard to have his plan canned, by essentially one of his own, before it’s even launched is telling.

Also telling is the media concentration economy related stories, relegating wars and terror to sidebars and also-rans. John Howard knows he is fighting rising voter anger over personal economics, not anti-war protesters, but does he know how to assuage that anger?

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