The Oil Drum: Australia/New Zealand | GetUp! and Fix Transport

GetUp! and Fix Transport

Posted by Phil Hart on June 15, 2008 - 10:17pm in The Oil Drum: Australia/New Zealand

The latest campaign from the very effective GetUp! crew is on transport and fuel prices:

Our leaders need to tackle climate change with real transport solutions. Instead they are arguing about rising petrol prices without addressing rising greenhouse pollution.

We're sick of waiting for the bus, train, tram or ferry while our politicians fail to solve these problems. It's time to inject some sanity into the debate.

Email your MP using our easy tool below and tell them to fix transport now.

GetUp! make it quick and easy to send your thoughts to your MP - they do listen to the messages they receive and the more they get, the more powerful the message.

7 comments

Phil Hart on June 15, 2008 - 10:19pm Permalink | Comments top

Here's what I wrote to my MP (Petro Georgiou):

I am concerned that both the Labor Government and the Liberal opposition are misleading the Australian community with a futile debate about lowering petrol taxes.

We are addicted to a scarce resource which is only going to become more expensive in the future. I believe the opposition needs to confront the Labor Government with the harsh reality of the situation, rather than lowering the standard of the debate with talk of excise cuts.

The current debate on petrol prices is also ignoring climate change and the numerous other benefits of transitioning Australia away from dependence on oil for transport.

thanks
Phil Hart

SailDog on June 16, 2008 - 6:10am Permalink | Comments top

I responded (I am on their list - I generally respond) with something similar.

Problem is that the government have an agenda that does not include PO. Someone once said if KR was to say "Folks - hate to spoil the fun, but it is PO; and............" - What is his next sentence?

They will never admit PO, it will always be "the oil shock; and high prices will work, they always do....." or arguments about 5c. The action and leadership is going to have to come from outside politics.

Termoil on June 16, 2008 - 9:30am Permalink | Parent | Comments top

Tonight on the 7:30 Report, Kerry O'Brien quoted Richard Heinberg when confronting KEvin Rudd on high oil prices. While the words "peak" and "oil" wer not used sequentially, Obrien did ask "what happens if oil production has passed its peak and what plan does the government have to deal with it?"

Rudds response was typically non committal and then he committed what I think is the most gutless response by blaming the Liberal Party for leaving the policy cupboard bare when thy came into office. Now it may be that Howard and Co knew about the coming oil problems (Costello even said so during the campaign) adn did not have any plans to deal with it, but it is a lame excuse from any politician when many of us have written to, spoken and campaigned with our MP's from both sides of politics for several years about this issue. Andrew Macnamara is not surprised with the high oil prices. Queensland have at least had a task force. The Senate, had a committee report on Peak Oil in 2006 which had Labor politicians on it. It is just unbelieveable that the Labor party have done no work on this at all.

I do think we are getting closer everyday to MSM really blowing Peak Oil wide open and really starting to take notice of it. The supply side is starting to be reported in more detail and far more of the Fin Review was today dedicated to oil. Interesting times indeed.

Phil Hart on June 16, 2008 - 7:54pm Permalink | Parent | Comments top

I agree. Kerry O'Brien rather changed the rules of engagement last night. Confronting the Prime Minister with peak oil is not really the done thing! But it's a great sign. I'll try and put together a post on it over the next day or two..

Cretaceous on June 17, 2008 - 10:10am Permalink | Parent | Comments top

Here's a News Flash from the Deputy Prime Minister, Phil:

"...I have to say I do share the community's quite deep concern about the outlook at the moment because it really is related to very heavy demand for fuel around the place, limitations of global refining capacity and, I have to say it, the very real prospect that at some stage in the next few short years global production may very well peak and it may be hard to increase it further at a time when countries like China, of course, are looking for a lot more fuel and even in places like Australia our dependence on oil, on petrol and transportation continues to increase..."

...The only problem is that it's John Anderson in 2004!
(Remember him? He felt a sudden need to get out of politics and cash in his AWB shares - and is now doing Coal Seam Methane deals... A perceptive man, obviously!)