Venting Some Frustration

[GTR-32U]

wow so much of it we pay is in tax...what I would love to know or calculate some day when I am bored, is just what percentage of the average wage goes in taxes...Not just income tax, but GST on an average weekly food/petrol budget, just normal day to day spending ...I would love to know what percentage of an average wage goes in taxes...anybody here mathematically gifted ?

[R338OY]

The best solution is to reduce the amount of driving we do. Walk, push bike, train etc. Save driving for evenings and weekends, rather than commuting in traffic.

Our weekly petrol expenses will go down, or at least break even with price increases, and we'll be creating less pollution, meaning we get rain in winter and sun in summer and not the other f**king way around

[66yostagea]

I filled up at 151.9. Cost $80. I told the owner, "my first car cost $60 and it had half a tank of gas".

When I was really young a pack of cigs cost about 18c. Petrol was about 10c a litre. I smoked and had a V8. Got $20 a week.How does that work out at todays prices?

It is all relative. Look at what you earn compared to today's costs compared to earnings V cost say 50 years ago.

Remember I am the 66yo. I think that today we are better off

When I was a 20 yo, the basic wage was about $25 a week. A Commonhore cost about 8 or 9 months wages.

The "average" wage is now about $800 a week. A fairly good car costs about the same, 8 or 9 months wages.

The answer............Gas it!

[DECIM8]

FYI fuel is from o.s in australia only 15% is shipped here the rest we find on our own.

Fuel price is determined by the price on singapore fuel prices, for all the dribble i read about it I could not work out why

Petrol companies make a 5c profit on fuel a litre, the rest the government take. So yes the government is ripping us of... Why? to build crapper and crapper roads when they rekon they improve them.

[66yostagea]

If you believe tho oil Cos only make 5c/l, then I've got faries in my garden.

[Stinky Rooster]

If you believe tho oil Cos only make 5c/l, then I've got faries in my garden.

Mardi Gras at Hughs place?

Im in!!!

[RubyRS4]

He said petrol companies, not oil companies

[leetom]

remember i am only 66yo......... yeh c'mon hugh, you been a member now..... uh 2006 thats what ah.. a couple of years, come clean man

[48ngr]

my frustation is in a different area atm..... car needs new king pin bearings and none in australia. There's 4, 2 on each side. Have sourched 2 from bearing place but toher 2 are odd size and have to get through nissan. nissan say 2 weeks but pfft they are always wrong

[rb26stagea]

Just hit a milestone (not literally!): cost me $100.54 to fill the Stagea yesterday. That's the fisrt time I've had to spend three figures on fuel in one fill-up.

[Terminal]

I filled up in bathurst on monday morning at $1.75/L, then last night i filled up in Muswellbrook at $1.65/L.... how the heck does that work?

[66yostagea]

Oil CO., Petrol Co.

Are we talking like, Coles and Woolies versus Caltex, Shell?

AFAIK Australian crude is not suitable for making diesel. Correct me if I am wrong.

[Stinky Rooster]

AFAIK Australian crude is not suitable for making diesel. Correct me if I am wrong.

Nah, I am not 100% sure what aussie crude is used for, but I doubt that would be the case. Because diesel is made from hydrocarbons with quite large molecular chains, diesel actually requires less thermal (or catalytic, but you don't NEED to use a catalyst for crap grade diesel) ) cracking than petrol.

Also, it actually cracked from the distillate (the crud left over) after distilling the "higher" hydrocarbons such as napthra (the main aromatic associated with petrol - ie the stuff they use to raise the RON) propane and ethane, Ergo I think diesel could be taken from the really crap grade crude that even petrol wouldn't be worth extracting from.

[pablo101]

The price of everything is going up, end of the day it's just more money for the government.

It would have been ok if wages had gone up too but I'm saving less now then I was years ago

[thedriver]

This might get me in trouble...

I believe we are still paying too little for petrol. The price of petrol should be higher and should have been higher than it currently is a long time ago. Filling my Stagea hurts my hip pocket as much as the next person, maybe even more so. I do around 30-35000kms each year, so it's not cheap, especially when you consider the price of BP Ultimate is rarely discounted (and BP don't have fuel vouchers).

But bring on $3.80/L I say!

We desperately need to be looking seriously at alternative fuels; BioDiesel, CNG, Ethanol, Electric (not really suitable for Australia yet), Hydrogen, LPG (still a fossil fuel derivative). Not just because the price of petrol is skyrocketing, but because we need a cleaner atmosphere in which to live. The higher the price of petrol the sooner we will take seriously the alternatives, and the cheaper they appear in comparison. Had we been paying a high price for petrol already, a price which you might say justifies our contribution to the fouling of the air we breathe (consider it a tax), we would surely have delivered a cleaner, more efficient fuel source and delivered it on masse to the motoring public. Countries have done it already, countries with a much smaller hip pocket than our own.

Brazil is the glory country here and have proven it can be done. With a budget revenue similar (slightly smaller) than our own, almost 10 times the population and a per capita GDP less than 1/3 of ours, they understood the economics of the proposal for cheaper alternative fuels a long time ago. Australia is a position to do the same whether it be with Ethanol or another alternative fuel.

We already support a sugar cane industry, have large reserves of ©NG and LPG and a fledgling BioDiesel community. What we really need is for our government(s) (Federal and State), industry and private enterprise to back one or two options (not necessarily those I have mentioned) and make a committed effort to ensuring the supply and use.

Governments need to be the primary driver offering either direct rebates and stamp duty / registration concessions for cars that are converted or designed for use on these cleaner fuels (much like LPG at the moment).

This is the answer to the rising cost of petrol prices. This is the ONLY answer. Whether it happens now or down the track when petrol is $3.80/L will be determined by us.

And one more thing... anyone that thinks the oppositions idea of reducing the excise on petrol by 5c/L is a good idea... You need to have a serious think. If you use a full 60L /week, that's a net saving of just $3... or $150/yr. Wouldn't you prefer the government instead put your $150/yr into developing new, cheaper, cleaner fuel supplies?

[66yostagea]

Thats good. We do have LOTS of capped oil producing wells in Australia. We also have Cracking and Platforming technology. I think that like the US we have an agenda to use as much of everybody elses crude, and then when they run out, we will accelerate our alternative energy sources development.

I agree that petrol is CHEAP in this country compared with say Europe. Gas and diesel are very prominent in Europe. We have the gas, but As I said before diesel is a production problem here.

As long as the Oil/Petrol companies control production and price, we at at the mercy of the SYSTEM. Capitalism.Profit, GREED>

And of course the Govt of the day profits.

Edited May 27, 2008 by 66yostagea

[changi]

can't blame the Saudi's and others that control the world's oil reserves for ripping us off whilst they can: once their oil runs out they will be back to filling egg timers with the only other resource they have, "sand". it's going to be tough for the Shieks' when they have to trade their mercedes grande in on a second hand camel, imported from Australia.

[pork hunt drifting]

just filled up $93

[changi]

This might get me in trouble...

I believe we are still paying too little for petrol. The price of petrol should be higher and should have been higher than it currently is a long time ago. Filling my Stagea hurts my hip pocket as much as the next person, maybe even more so. I do around 30-35000kms each year, so it's not cheap, especially when you consider the price of BP Ultimate is rarely discounted (and BP don't have fuel vouchers).

But bring on $3.80/L I say!

We desperately need to be looking seriously at alternative fuels; BioDiesel, CNG, Ethanol, Electric (not really suitable for Australia yet), Hydrogen, LPG (still a fossil fuel derivative). Not just because the price of petrol is skyrocketing, but because we need a cleaner atmosphere in which to live. The higher the price of petrol the sooner we will take seriously the alternatives, and the cheaper they appear in comparison. Had we been paying a high price for petrol already, a price which you might say justifies our contribution to the fouling of the air we breathe (consider it a tax), we would surely have delivered a cleaner, more efficient fuel source and delivered it on masse to the motoring public. Countries have done it already, countries with a much smaller hip pocket than our own.

Brazil is the glory country here and have proven it can be done. With a budget revenue similar (slightly smaller) than our own, almost 10 times the population and a per capita GDP less than 1/3 of ours, they understood the economics of the proposal for cheaper alternative fuels a long time ago. Australia is a position to do the same whether it be with Ethanol or another alternative fuel.

We already support a sugar cane industry, have large reserves of ©NG and LPG and a fledgling BioDiesel community. What we really need is for our government(s) (Federal and State), industry and private enterprise to back one or two options (not necessarily those I have mentioned) and make a committed effort to ensuring the supply and use.

Governments need to be the primary driver offering either direct rebates and stamp duty / registration concessions for cars that are converted or designed for use on these cleaner fuels (much like LPG at the moment).

This is the answer to the rising cost of petrol prices. This is the ONLY answer. Whether it happens now or down the track when petrol is $3.80/L will be determined by us.

And one more thing... anyone that thinks the oppositions idea of reducing the excise on petrol by 5c/L is a good idea... You need to have a serious think. If you use a full 60L /week, that's a net saving of just $3... or $150/yr. Wouldn't you prefer the government instead put your $150/yr into developing new, cheaper, cleaner fuel supplies?

it's great to grab the moral high ground: and while you are up there think about the consequences of soaring fuel costs for truckies, farmers, trawler operators, etc. if fuel goes to 3.80L [$2 above present], on your example of 60L/week, thats an extra of $120/week which is $6000/yr, great!!. and that $6k is only the start of the real cost, it will impact every single purchasable item, especially housing and food, which are both pretty hard to do without. also, Brazil has just discovered the biggest oil find in 30 years, sounds like they are doing their bit to save the planet!!. that will fit in nicely with their policy of clearing rain forest to grow palm oil for the bio fuel hoax. we, the developed countries, will have plenty of bio fuel, and the poorest of the world will starve because they can't afford grain. great solution ..

[benm]

I agree that petrol is CHEAP in this country compared with say Europe. Gas and diesel are very prominent in Europe.

The distance I drive to work each day would be enough in Europe to get me from 1 side of a country to the other.