Why isn't diesel cheaper than petrol

In the seventies, Diesel was always half the price of Petrol.

Diesel in Geelong a few weeks ago was 2 to 3 cents cheaper than petrol. Got me excited. Now petrol has come down diesel has remained the same.

If diesel was 10 to 20 cents cheaper things in the supermarket etc would not go up in price as much. More people would keep there jobs.
People would start buying more diesel cars. A lot of these diesel cars nearly match the new hybrid cars for economy.
With this, less fuel being used, less stress on would oil .

Sounds simple but I am just a mad farmer,not a politician.
Lachie

that's it folks, we'll have to get on our soap boxes & let them know we are NOT happy...........

Wonder if the same is planned when enough people are on LPG with their $2000 rebate.... get enough using LPG and then add 20c / litre to it. Would not take long for the government to get most of their $2000 back. At 15l/100km it would be paid back in 66,000km.

exactly what i thought to Wazza it wont be long and there will be a tax on LPG. Give it a couple of years when enough people are using it like you have said

Cheers Luke

Tim , in the NT out from The Alice , they do produce Diesel . It comes out of the ground and with very little refining ,they have diesel .

Yep, A mate of mine worked at at Merrinnie Oil ( just out of Alice ) and used to run his old Toyota on crude for years . The only change he made was to stick a second fuel filter on it.

....and it was always cheaper than diesel anywhere else, even when we did a trip from Adelaide it was cheaper than in Adelaide!!!!

I think they are still refining (distilling) diesel at Eromanga too.
Beautiful stuff- Nockatunga Crude distills at 70% diesel

Stu

There was an article in yesterdays advertister about a plant coming to Adelaide to make deisel out of old tyres, they say that the whole tyre would be used. would be a great idea if they do do it and there are no problems with using it just imagine all the old tyres that could be used. Tyres would be cheaper to get rid of or they would prolly take them for free.

Would be good for the environment to cos people wouldnt dump em on the side of the road either

Cheers Luke

That's exactly what I was told by a mate in the industry...

In the 70's when we had cheap diesel it was treasure Keating who raised the duty to bring it up to the price of petrol .

I think you'll find little johnny was treasurer in the 70's

So change the date , it was definately Keating that imposed the duty . Shortly after , he proposed a duty on LPG and no action followed . I always presumed that was because he was told that you don't have a future in pollitics if every taxi driver in the country hates you .

Actually I think my dates are correct : didn't Labour gain power in 1971 ?

MOST service stations sell far more petrol than diesel. It is obviously far more pronounced in the metropolitan areas where 90 odd percent of us live. High volume diesel users get a "rebate" around 18c/litre (someone will provide a more accurate figure) so they don't have quite the same concerns.

Looks like we're back to a sort of supply vs demand scenario again :)))))

I can't see our politicians/oil companies changing what, to them, seems to be working OK at the moment.

If that is the case how come when I first got into a diesel about 17 years ago diesel was cheaper than petrol by about 9c per litre.

There were a lot less "family diesels" on the road then compared to now. I was the only person amongst my friends and colleagues driving a diesel back then, now it's about 50/50.

I reckon we are simply being ripped off.

Duncs

Duncs,

The world was a totally different place 17 years ago. I know I was'nt in the least bit worried about the price of fuel then.

I'm not denying that diesel users are being ripped off. All I'm saying is petrol users, in this country, have far more clout (numbers and volume of product consumed) than diesel users.

If we try to apply logic to resolve this fuel price issue, we'll all end up in the funny farm because there is none.

You can complain all you want. But the infomataion on the aip website is all true. read it and you might learn something. There is a huge depand for Diesel and JetA1 at the moment so that's why the price is so high.

LOL I was going to post something similar but you can now wear the flak eerfree hahahaha Where do we send the flowers ???????

I don't want to get into terrorist or Muslim debate. But you are right regarding the governments wanting to keep the working classes down. It keeps the rich buggers in their positions of power.

This government encouraged people to spend up big, take home loans to get the economy moving. With the promise of maintaining record low interest rates. Oz now has record levels of personal debt with a higher percentage of income going into paying off debts than ever before.

That's why there's such a fuss about interest rates and fuel prices because it hits the average bloke hard. That's the way they want it to stay so they can keep their $80 000 a year pension and we're too preoccupied with our daily lives to do anything about it!

They will charge us, tax us and make us pay the maximum they can without losing the next election. All the time saying every decision will be good for the average Joe Blow. They could make fuel cheaper if they wanted to, but why would they want to?

It's no secret those in charge want to maintain the status quo. It's always happened like that since the beginning of civilisation.

No point worrying about it too much. Just go out, travel and enjoy waking up each morning. Every day you can see the sun is a good day.

Barnesy

I love a good conspiracy theory!!

But if George Bush is so stupid like everyone keeps saying, how does he manage to pull off all the conspiracy theorys he's credited with!

George Bush is a puppet for the oil companies. It isn't just Bush, he has the diplomacy skills of a battered fish (excuse the pun). Don't forget his Dad used to be president and is still involved heavily with the oil industries.

A lot of Bush Jnr former business partners, therefore his buddies, are still in the oil industry and actually heavily funded his presidential campaign!

Dick Cheney (vice pres) used to be CEO of a company that is now one of the major suppliers of military hardware for the Iraq war. Once he is finished at the White House which company will offer him a job on their board?

There is so much corruption and self interest in the current US government it isn't funny. It is inaccurate to call it a theory. Simply call it for what it is, a conspiracy, it's not theoretical it's actual.

Barnesy

Barnsey

History has proven many times over the centuries that suppressing the masses (working classes) is never a good strategy and why would you want to it this day and age? Most countries want a general increase in the living standards of the masses, not a decrease. Australians have enjoyed a general increase in living standards and conditions over a long period, brought about by the various policies and initiatives of both the major political parties. Of course, there will always be some at the margin that under any circumstances will be disadvantaged, but I’m talking about the general population.

As far as the notion that this government has encouraged people to spend up big, take home loans to get the economy moving – this is simply incorrect. Australians have needed no encouragement to want to own their own home and this started post world war two, long before this government had any influence over you or I. In fact, when interest rates were at record highs (under a labour government) people still wanted to own their own home and go into debt to achieve this.

The problem of increased debt and the burgeoning costs of servicing it has it root cause in the individual, after all you and I control what we spend, no one else. Competition in the banking and finance industry (we all wanted that didn’t we?) has led to easier credit availability – the onus is on the individual to manage this availability and their personal spending habits.

The fact is that the government can only indirectly control interest rates through policy and sound management of the economy; they have no direct influence on interest rates as they are set by the Reserve Bank. The same, in some respects, can be said for the price of oil. They don’t set the price, the market does. We could argue that government taxes on fuel could be reduced to lower the cost of fuel, but at what cost does that come? Less revenue means less spending somewhere else.

But, we can agree on something – not worrying about it. I’m with you when you say the best thing we can do is just get out, travel and enjoy waking up each morning.

Good luck

I didn't explain myself very well with the working class bit. Ruling classes do want an increase in living standards that will provide them with more taxable income and more chances to raise revenue.

As for your comment that this gov didn't encourage people to spend big with the promise of low interest rates, I'm sorry Landy you are wrong. They did promise that and the fact they can't directly influence rates makes this promise blatantly obscene. Must have been just before an election......I think it was.... the 2004 election!

And to imply the PM has no influence on the spending habits of everday Australians is incorrect too. Yes each person needs to obtain their own indivdual financial advice. But the previous labor government encouraged saving money so what did people do? save their money! This very popular government encouraged people to spend so that's what many did. I'm not saying it's bad but that's what happening.

You can make up your own mind whether a 100% increase in the cost of housing in the last 5 years is normal or not. And who this benefits and who it disadvantages.

To blame the individual for this is only partly true for those in power need to take responsibility too. But they shirk it and play politics. And they are not the ones spending a large % of their income on their mortgages.

I remember watching question time late one night when the PM was questioned about a workplace, the workers lost penalty rates and effectively about 20% income (not to mention sick leave and holiday pay aswell). The PM reply was "everybody has to make sacrifices". That everbody doesn't include him of course. He will still spend his $500 million (of tax payers money) on advertising campaigns for any policy that is unpopular.

I have lost the energy for more debates like this. I have my post graduate diploma to study for now on my day off from work.

Barnesy

Here here Barnesy that's very fair to say!

Gee I just went to that government site, I was not actually sure as to what we are paying tax on diesel, now I'm more pi$$ed off, 110 Lt to fill my Patrol $41.98 goes to tax. The BUGGERS :(

Cheers, Babs.

Lifes like a $hit sandwich the more bread you have, the less $hit you eat. LOL

Hi Barnesy

We don’t have a ruling class in Australia. The taxes you and I pay today go to revenue that the government distributes back to the community in different ways. Social Security for example; it doesn’t go directly into their pockets for their personal use. Perhaps you are not suggesting that is the case, but I’m not sure what point you are making in your first paragraph.

I can’t imagine any government, including high spending Labour Governments, encouraging anyone to spend beyond their means. Besides, the over-rider remains that you and I decide what we spend no-one else does that for us (except in my case the SWHMBO rules the cheque book).

As for interest rates, Howard never said interest rates wouldn’t go up; he did indicate that he would keep interest rates low. By any measure, Australian interest rates are low especially when compared to rates over the past 20 years. Noting, they are higher than some other leading economies. However, the reason for that is we have a booming economy which has benefited the broader community (no not all), and this is evident in the high level of employment in Australia. If you want a job today you can get one. Unskilled workers in the mining industry are getting paid well into six figure salaries and that is one by-product of a booming economy.

You ask whether 100% increase in housing costs over the past five years is normal or not. I’m not sure what the median increase across Australia is, and no I don’t think it is reasonable if the number is correct. This is despite having benefited from it along with every other home owner, whether you live in a ‘wealthy’ or ‘less wealthy’ suburb. But I’m not sure that the fault lies with the policies of the federal government either, possibly some blame lies with the state governments for not releasing more land for development. But what do you propose to do that would change the situation? Perversely, increasing interest rates works perfectly to depress house prices, but I guess we can’t have our cake and eat it.

But my central point is; why bash the government for something that largely lies outside its control – in this case the price of diesel? Government bashing might be popular (seems to be the case in this forum at least) and might even provide some satisfaction, but it won’t resolve a single thing.

People should consider the issue and decide whether the fault lies with them (the government) in the first place. In turn asking yourself what would you change or do differently to what they are doing without affecting someone else in the electorate, because therein lies one of the greatest challenges of a pollie, balancing the interests of all without fear or favour.

If all else fails use the ballot box, whether that resolves or simply transfers the problem is another question altogether!

Nothing personal in this, but in need let’s just agree to disagree, bearing in mind we meet on the important things – getting out, travelling and waking up each morning!

Good luck out there.

Mmmm anyone else confused yet??? LOL

Enjoy life, raise a family love your children, be charitable from your heart not just your pocket, teach your children respect and pass on your values and morals.
The future will be brighter.

Love to everyone,
Babs.

As i said Landy i don't have much energy for debates i am studying on my days off when i should be camping!

It seems the main difference with our views is that in regards to governments you are an optimist and i am a cynic.

I am optimistic with other people's views and lifes work such as Fred Hollows, David Attenborough and over in Oz right now Al Gore.

By the way Gore describes what you have to do to make it in politics as 'toxic'. I think that by following politics the toxins have gotten to me and i am distrustful of the motives of politicians.

You have to read between the lines of each policy to work out who benefits and if indeed they are telling you the truth, or if they are bull bleep ting you. I suppose my trust of this current government went out the window with the lies surrounding children overboard, the Iraq war and now that they covered up the AWB scandal after they found out about it.

Can't wait to finish my study so i can go camping again.

Barnesy