Get off Rudd and get some perspective

“The Labor Government stands behind motorists and consumers, the Liberal Opposition is standing behind the major oil companies." Rudd

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s popularity is plummeting mainly due to the rising cost of fuel, yet he’s still streaks ahead of his opposing leader, Liberal’s Brendan Nelson. If the Coalition’s best attack on the PM’s first year in office relies on rising fuel prices, Rudd should rest easy. It never ceases to amaze me how insular many of my fellow countrymen are. It would please me greatly if more people looked outside Aussie prime time news and print media for their information. Most mainstream media outlets are owned by stock market listed corporations. They have a vested interest to keep you in the dark

Fuel prices are rising dramatically throughout the world. Last month in Malaysia my regular taxi route fare had increased by 20% in the space of a couple of weeks. Apologetic taxi drivers citing the massive increase in fuel the culprit. I’m back in Australia a week and the hot topic is, in layman’s terms, "it’s Rudd’s fault petrol prices are rising."

Is that so?

What is it about us Aussie’s that makes us feel so *****special that we feel we are the centre of the universe, or planet as in this case? If Kevin Rudd and the Labor government are to blame for the fuel hike in Oz, then I suppose they are also to blame for the bowser bollocks in the UK where petrol has risen by 20% in the past year or how about the entire continent of Europe with an average sky rocket of 14%. Somehow I doubt our Rudd is that high up on the global political ladder, but hey, what do I know…

Let’s get some perspective here. Where does Australia sit in the whole scheme of things fuel wise?In June, a litre of fuel in Australia would set you back around $1.55AUS. In the UK you’d expect to pay about $2.40, Spain $2.07 and France $2.56, Turkey $2.75, Malaysia $0.90, United States $1.20, India $1.45, Israel $2.23…In the whole scheme of things Australia doesn’t fare too poorly.

And while we’re at it, let’s have a look at some headlines from around the world in the past week. “Strike over fuel price hike paralyses Kathmandu Valley.” Kathmandu

“Truckers’ on nationwide hike, supplies take a hit.” New Delhi

“Nepal anger over fuel price rise.” Nepal

“Petrol price fuel inflation.” Botswana

“South Asians face fuel price rise.” Pakistan and Bangladesh

“Truckers’ strike over fuel.” India

“Factories close, supermarkets empty and jets run out of fuel as truckers’ strike bites.” Spain and Portugal

Rising fuel costs don’t just effect your petrol tank. The repercussions of rising fuel prices direct as a result from hiked oil prices effect us all. You don’t have to own a vehicle to bore the brunt.

Almost half of Bangladeshis live on less than $1 a day and the cost of rice has doubled in the past year. According to Bangladeshi finance minister the government had no choice but to increase fuel prices again due to the global rise of oil prices ‘otherwise funding of health, education and government services would have to be cut.’ No doubt if the Bangladeshi government had decided not to rise fuel prices but instead cut funding for essential services, people would be in uproar. You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t.

Similar would occur in Australia. Can you imagine the uproar if Rudd cut funding for healthcare, education and other government funded services in order to keep the cost of fuel down? The Liberal government has spent the past 12 years cutting funding for essential services… But let’s not go there.

As long as the cost of crude oil continues to soar, no nation is immune to the rise of fuel. Rather than blaming Rudd and the Labor government attention should be elsewhere.

Ahead of July’s Tokyo G8 summit which is to focus on global warming and rising food and fuel costs, Rudd said motorists around the world were "copping it in the neck" and that OPEC had done nothing. Although Australia is not a member of G8, Rudd will be attending as a guest of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and is pressing the G8 to make oil prices top of the G8’s agenda urging that what is needed is "a clear statement from the world's major economies to the OPEC producers to lift their production quotas now, because currently we have a distorted market. We have a distortion of supply and demand, and OPEC has done very little by way of interim adjustments in its outlook. We have a supply problem, that's OPEC and they've been refusing to act. That's where action must happen."

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16/05/2008.Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that Adult average wage has increased by 4.8 % over the 12 months to Feb 2008.The Capital Cities House price Index rose 13.8% over 12 months to Mar 2008.In the 12 months to Feb 2008 petrol has increased from $1.06 to $1.46.
An increase of 40 cents or 37.7 %.