I had a whinge the other day about the rising cost of filling up the car. $86, I complained, as just too much for someone on a fixed income. Of course, I was brought back to earth when I happened to be with Jamie at his service station. He has a bigger car, with a bigger engine; he uses 98 octane petrol rather than the basic stuff that I use, I’m sure he has a bigger petrol tank but, nevertheless, I was shocked when he told me he had handed over $173 for his fill-up.
However, no matter what is happening over in Europe to inflate the price of a basic necessity of life, we are still being ripped off, by our own Government! Who would have thought?
The ABC News website has a story about the Fuel Excise, the 42c which is levied on every litre of petrol we buy. This is touted as being a levy to improve the quality of our roads and to enhance public transport but, when the figures are analysed, just 53% over the long term goes to that purpose. Worse, the Grattan Institute says that the funds are ‘frequently used to buy political favour’. As an example, they cite the $4 billion Urban Congestion Fund where $83 million went to fund carparks in marginal seats, $64 million to safe Coalition seats and only $34 million to safe Labor seats.
I really object to being lied to: if this money is ear-marked to pay for safer roads and better public transport, it’s not unreasonable to expect all of it to be expended for that purpose, not to fund questionable subsidies for the government’s mates or in trying to ensure that Scott Morrison can have another term as Prime Minister. We desperately need a Federal ICAC in Australia to put some limits on these crooks.
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