Govt. should delay planned petrol tax

[MotherBear]

Government should delay planned petrol tax, says forum
5:30PM Wednesday April 23, 2008

The Government should delay imposing planned fuel taxes to ease the pain of surging fuel prices, the Road Transport Forum says.

The suggestion comes after the latest fuel price hikes by the major oil companies yesterday saw 91 octane petrol increase from $1.86 a litre to $1.89, and diesel going up 5 cents from $1.52 to $1.57.

Forum chief executive Tony Friedlander said the Government should east the impact of soaring petrol and diesel prices by putting off the raft of new taxes and costs it intended imposing on fuel over the next year.

He said in that period fuel costs could go up by as much as 40 cents per litre on top of the record prices being paid today, because of the Government's biofuel policy, emissions trading scheme and regional fuel taxes.

More here .

[Taffy]

Maybe a few governments should actually stand up to the oil companies and refuse to allow such outrageous prices. If every western country clubbed together and stood up to them, they would either have to drop their prices or go bust overnight!

[MotherBear]

Economists: Get ready for $2.50 petrol
5:00AM Thursday May 22, 2008
By Alanah May Eriksen

Motorists will soon be paying $2 a litre for the most widely used grade of petrol, economists have warned, and the price could reach $2.50.

The rises are inevitable as increasing international oil prices affect the New Zealand market.

And they could get worse, Westpac economists forecast.

US light crude oil reached a record US$130 a barrel on Tuesday and was just above US$129 last night.

New Zealand buys Dubai crude oil, which generally costs several dollars a barrel less than the US light crude.

More here .

[Taffy]

Damn those stupid economists - the only reason they put up the prices is cos the stupid economists keep giving them permission to by 'warning' us of the impending price hike!

You just wait, I'll give it 3 months tops before petrol hits that price.

Something's gotta give, and I'm betting it'll get nasty too. There's just no way anyone can afford to live, not just running their car but the knock on effects to ALL consumer goods due to skyrocketing transport costs.

I think there should be a class action law suit brought against the oil companies for causing an economical disaster, as well as causing undue and unnecessary hardship to people through utter greed. Anyone up for a battle?

[Cliff]

If we (The world as a whole) would consume and fly less the price would go down. One of the inflators is the demand for aircraft fuel and diesel. There is plenty of petrol/gasoline.

The USA uses 25% of the entire world production of crude. If the USA alone would decrease their demand or use thee price would go down. However they have not increased there use in years. China and India are coming online and increasing total world demand.

Cheap energy/crude is no more and will not return. Don't look for prices to go down. $2.50 a liter might sound expensive but it will go way beyond this. The oil companies are reaping a benefit because they have long term contracts and have control the oil from the time is comes out of the ground until it goes in your car. If the price of crude went way down they would be losing money which is NOT likely to happen.

A least there is fuel. Imagine if there was a shortage instead of high prices.

Cheap energy is gone and isn't coming back. We need and must change our ways and I am talking everyone. Walking, using the bus will become more common. Using the car will become a luxury not a something you automatically do. The price of gas will go a lot higher it will surpass the $2.50 mark and that will seem cheap in the future.

I sound like a greenie but I am not. Just know the world has changed and we are in the midst of this change. Don't look for crude prices to stop until it hits $200 a barrel. This is a resistance level and it may stop there for a time.

[MotherBear]

Filling up will get even dearer
5:00AM Sunday June 01, 2008
By Alice Hudson

The annual bill for filling up an average family car will have risen by 50 per cent in 18 months by Christmas.

With the price of crude oil continuing to increase, experts say the cost of a litre of 91 octane unleaded fuel could hit $2.50 by the end of the year.

The AA said that would see the cost of running a 1.6 to 2-litre, 4-cylinder car for 14,000km a year reach $3095, up more than $1000 since last May.

The average family's annual petrol bill has already skyrocketed by 28 per cent, or more than $600, in a year.

Senior AA policy analyst Mark Stockdale told the Herald on Sunday it cost an extra $26.40 to fill a 60-litre vehicle with petrol and $42.60 with diesel. He said filling a typical family car with 91 octane would cost $2488 a year at current prices, compared with $1943 a year ago.

More here .