Comments on: Politicians on petrol — don’t mention the “c” word

By: LiViN

LiViN — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Dear John, This is a war. We need to stop blaming short-sighted Local, State and Federal governments as the truth is that they all should have seen this coming. We need to ration. We need to think about where to spend our fuel. And we need to be wise.

The hardest thing for the ordinary Australian is that they are suffering from a centralisation of services and jobs whilst living in decentralised outer urban areas, badly serviced by public transport, and serviced by large shopping centres that aren't within a walkable distance of their homes. The have been sold the notion of safety in a big 4WD car, when that just makes communities more dangerous to walk in, as well as consuming ridiculous amounts of fuel for relatively short trips.

The choices we have all made have made us vulnerable and now is the time to reconsider. I was talking to a group of concerned parents and friends last night. They have made choices around a car-based lifestyle. They live a long way from their children's schools. Their jobs take them in another direction. The teachers at the school don't live near it and public transport is difficult. So the choices really are to centralise you life within a walkable community, where all necessary services are within about 1km, or stop whingeing and blaming and catch the bus!

By: Colin Jones

Colin Jones — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

One simple measure that has been overlooked by this rhetoric-bound government. Take away the tarrif concessions on imported 4WD. A simple gesture that our Wayne overlooked in his budget. Up here on the Gold Coast I take a count of the number of 4WD I encounter on my morning walks-most of them shiny specimens that have never seen the bush. Five years ago they were of a ratio of 1/8 and now 1/7 so the message is not getting through to these consumers.
Amazingly the number of lady drivers is astounding and I thought that perhaps this was some form of pen*s envy.

By: Sophie Black

Sophie Black — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Interesting point re urban design LiViN, so how to steer the political conversation towards redesigning our urban areas, and providing a shot in the arm for public transport infrastructure for these families? Not exactly a sexy soundbite for politicians who prefer to talk about 5 cent petrol discounts.. esp given that PT is a state responsibility… but pt usage is on the increase in a major way, so how do we direct the conversation that way?

By: JohnJames

JohnJames — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

This debate and the way it has unfolded confirms two important political realities. The first is that this government, as Tony Abbott predicted, is much like the Carr and Iemma NSW governments were. They cannot take any tough decisions and despite rhetoric to the contrary do not have the ‘Gohones’ ( as the Spanish say ) to look at the long term. It amazes me that Nelson ( full credit to him ) has been able to engage Rudd and Swan to the point where they are clearly rattled, yet only 6 months into the term of their new government. Howard would have never allowed that to happen. The other very obvious fact is that the Green movement and the renewable energy sector have absolutely nothing to offer by way of an antidote to the difficulties being experienced by the broader community. In fact, their response is basically to argue that the pain should be increased. The Greens, in the great tradition of Malthus and Erlich are positively dangerous with no solution grounded in reality.