Posts Tagged ‘petrol’

Free Petrol Pt III

Written By: - Date published: 11:20 am, August 4th, 2016 - 25 comments

Part III of IV – a focus on road transport.

Delusional transport predictions

Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, June 16th, 2014 - 57 comments

This morning I was reading the Transport Blog on The Draft 2015-2025 Government Policy Statement released by the Ministry of Transport. This is the main starting point for a number of the transport planning documents over the coming decade(s). Somehow based on what looks like a delusional belief that people are going to start driving more as the price of petrol is going up, the MOT is planning about $17 billion dollars to be  sunk into (what I think will be) white elephant new roading over the coming decade.

Petrol price hits parties in the polls

Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, June 17th, 2008 - 120 comments

A reader sent us this graph. It plots President Bush’s approval rating and the price of petrol. (the price of petrol is upside-down, a fall in the price is a rise on the graph) As you can see, spikes in the price have been followed by a fall in Bush’s support and the reverse is […]

Facing up to peak oil

Written By: - Date published: 1:25 pm, June 16th, 2008 - 38 comments

The Government’s independent report on petrol prices is bit of a sop to be the public, really. The world oil price is driving petrol prices; any efficiencies that could be gained in New Zealand would be small and would not change the upward trend. Nor is a Fuel Watch website like Australia’s going to do […]

Matt McCarten from the Herald on Sunday

Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, June 16th, 2008 - 15 comments

Worth a read: Remember when George Bush’s administration promised the world that the invasion of Iraq would be over in a few weeks? We were assured that the Iraqis would throw flowers at their liberators, the war would make a tidy profit and petrol prices would plummet. Next time you fill up your car think […]

He would say that wouldn’t he

Written By: - Date published: 12:11 pm, June 16th, 2008 - 21 comments

Stuff reports that  National Party energy spokesman Gerry Brownlee has labelled the government’s inquiry into petrol pricing a cynical move that would not make a difference to prices. A similar inquiry in Australia resulted in a decision to provide increased transparency for consumers by stipulating that the petrol was to be set and notified by petrol companies […]

Getting blood from a stone

Written By: - Date published: 2:20 pm, May 27th, 2008 - 5 comments

A reader has just written in as a followup to IrishBill’s post earlier today on National’s plans to line the pockets of oil tycoons with a four land highway stretching the length of the North Island. Our reader notes that it’s not just us who think getting policy out of the Nats is like getting […]

Pumps are baulking at the price of gas too

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 27th, 2008 - 1 comment

As the price of our petrol continues to climb, having recently crossed the $2 a litre barrier, spare a thought for some US petrol retailers who have a whole other set of problems to contend with. As the Washington Times reports: Like a lot of small-scale entrepreneurs, Cathy Osborne worries that she’ll go out of […]

Petrol prices score political points

Written By: - Date published: 4:15 pm, May 6th, 2008 - 1 comment

It seems that NZers are not the only ones interested in petrol prices. From The Guardian: Barack Obama, facing increasingly close primary contests today in Indiana and North Carolina, fought off a populist push by Hillary Clinton to capitalise on American unease at rising petrol prices. The BBC has this on the unrelenting politics: To […]

Transport’s inclusion in ETS delayed

Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, May 6th, 2008 - 19 comments

The Government has delayed the inclusion of transport in the Emissions Trading Scheme from 2009 to 2011. On the surface, that seems to be a back down or a reduction in the Government’s commitment to tackling climate change but then you have to ask yourself what is the point of the Emissions Trading Scheme? As […]

Right answer, wrong question

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, April 30th, 2008 - 3 comments

It’s not often National gets something right but their latest flip-flop, on bio-fuels, is a good policy (well, partially and for the wrong reasons). National has announced they will no longer be supporting the bio-fuel requirement in petrol because it may put up the price of petrol a few cents. The bio-fuel requirement was always […]

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