Thursday 10 July 2008

What a gas


Fuel in New Zealand hit $2.32 / litre overnight, according to Price Watch.
Here's a snap I grabbed at the Portsmith Fuel, on the Captain Crook [sic] Highway, just across the Barron River.
The $1.56.9 equal $2 in NZ dollars, so there petrol is at least 15% more expensive that here.
I guess we can be blessed that we don't have to purchase our fuel on Thursday Island, where the Cairns Post reported it's already $2.10.
It amazes me the substantial tax that is added to diesel in Queensland, which is an unrefined product. In New Zealand, diesel is around 30% below 91/95/98 octane. Here, it's the other way round.
And LPG, not surprisingly, is cheaper again in New Zealand, being a natural resource.
This escalation of fuel prices needs to send everyone a wake up call. We need to question how and why we use our vehicles. My old 77 FG Landcruiser isn't in the running for a cheap ride into town these days, as you could well imagine.
It's about time we all started to reassess the inefficient way we connect as a society. We all live in small communities, and the nature of living in the regions like Cairns is that we should be closer to our neighbours. Many of us have a connection with our neighbour resident's group. This would be a practical and innovative project they could spearhead.
Take a look out your window next time you are travelling into the city, and see how many cars have only one person in them, when a great majority travel from their neighbourhood community at around the same time.
Maybe we can start setting up car pooling. That's one way to tackle this fuel stranglehold we're being gripped with I reckon.
I might give Big Kev a call. That BMW is always looking for a chatty passenger in the back seat.

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