Selwyn Johnston… Independent Advocate

Australia’s economy is dependent on fuel, and fuel is the catalyst that dictates the cost of every single item derived from our primary and secondary industries, in addition to retail prices of imported goods.

With fuel prices predicted to reach, and possibly exceed, $1.50 per litre within weeks, the Federal Government MUST return to per-1998 legislation that guaranteed static fuel prices by mandatory justification by oil companies for any increases in prices regardless how small.

The ACCC had powers until 1998 to keep a check on petrol prices until the Howard government removed these powers and thus allowed the oil companies to embark on ’self-regulation’.

It would not be unreasonable to believe that even unelected bureaucrats, and their bean-counters, should know that ’self-regulation’ by multinational conglomerates, especially oil companies, not only wouldn’t work, but was the very recipe for Australia’s current fuel pricing disaster!

Perhaps it’s time for a Government established Fuel Prices Commission headed by an independent commissioner with a board consisting of one representative each from the government and the oil companies with the balance being consumer advocates.

There certainly is now an argument to nationalise Australia’s oil resources, which are after all… taxpayer-owned assets.

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Manipulation of statistics is a favourite tactic of Australia’s two-party political system. Take a close look at the ‘growth’ in the economy as announced in the 2007 Federal Budget. The much-touted ‘growth’ was built on debt, and built by increasing credit card debt and foreign debt.

It was gained at the expense of savings!

People are now indoctrinated from children into ‘running like mice on the treadmill’ of debt, and both political parties encourage it, thus penalising saving.

Australia’s conventional banking system locks people into the poverty trap by either refusing to loan them money, or by charging them high rates of interest.

When considered it soon becomes obvious that this is how society is manipulated and exploited, by the creation of complexity! Complexity creates confusion! Confusion enables a situation to be exploited for maximum profit and advantage.

Variations in interest rates are not to compensate for the higher risk of default, as claimed by banks. Increased interest rates only increases the risk of default, as those who can most afford them pay the lowest rate, and those who can least afford them pay the highest rate, which amounts to the exploitation of the financially vulnerable.

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Queensland’s primary producers have collectively ‘had a gutful’ of government reports which squarely blames farming families for damaging the Great Barrier Reef as a result of ‘agriculture activities’, particularly by using toxic ‘farming chemicals’ as stated by DPI chief scientist Joe Baker.

Most ‘reports’ are a joke, as a desired outcome by those who commission reports is easily guaranteed by engaging an on-side and friendly consultant. This practice has been perfected by successive government and bureaucratic departments, which can purchase the best possible ‘reports’ that taxpayers’ money can buy!

Should ‘farming chemicals’ indeed be the problem, why hasn’t the DPI or the CSIRO conducted scientific research into alternate ‘chemicals’, which are efficient and effective, but non-toxic to the reef’s marine life?

While large scale organic commercial farming is suggested as one solution for Queensland’s agriculture industry, another is the use of organic farming chemicals.

However, there is not a government in Australia that has the intestinal fortitude to legislate against the multinational petro-chemical conglomerates that control herbicides, pesticides and insecticides, in addition to nutrients and other soil enhancing substances used for agricultural purposes.

And, to single out Queensland’s struggling sugar industry, brings the government’s ‘blame game’ to a new low!

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Abuse and violence, whether mental, physical or sexually, has never been condoned at any level of government, nor by past generations of decent Australians, and for anybody to say otherwise is absolute nonsense!

Sexual abuse and/or violence are abhorrent in any society, but none more despicable than these acts committed against our children and senior Australians.

Elderly women raped and beaten are reported in the media of our cities and regional communities almost weekly.

Children, both boys and girls, are to often the victims of deranged scumbags, organised groups of paedophiles, and in some cases even their own parents, as reported almost daily.

The solution, as suggested by one candidate in the forthcoming Federal election, is ‘educating’ parents who, in turn, should be ‘educating’ their children, on sexual abuse. Rubbish!

Responsible parents already explain to their children the facts relating to sexual predators. The only ones who need ‘educating’ are those ‘low-life’s’ who prey upon the vulnerability of the young and the aged!

The only ‘educating’ these poor excuses for human beings would understand are harsh mandatory goal sentences commencing at 15-years without parole for first offenders, 20-years without parole for second offenders, and 25-years without parole for third and subsequent offenders.

These bastards must be taken off the streets… permanently!

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There is no denying a much-needed major expansion to the Cairns Base Hospital is long overdue, and, which has been obviously neglected by successive Governments over the past twenty (20) years.  

But, where is it written that this taxpayer-owned (State) medical facility must be confined to a specific single location?  

The existing Hospital MUST remain at its present location on The Esplanade with some major upgrade. This will ensure medical facilities are readily available to Cairns, Cape York and Torres Strait residents and, to the hundreds of thousands of tourist who visit the City annually.  

The former Cairns North School property is ideally located for the establishment of a secure ‘Mental Health’ facility and, has sufficient space to accommodate a ‘Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation Centre’, thus removing two (2) current problem areas from existing Base Hospital locations.  

In addition, the mooted prime site located adjacent to the James Cook University’s (JCU) Smithfield campus, may be ideally used as a ‘Women’s Hospital’, with an adjoining ‘Children’s Hospital’, incorporating a first class JCU medical student training facility for obstetrics, paediatrics and nurses, plus a variety of other ‘women and children’ medical needs.  

By relocating two (2) specialist areas, ‘Mental Health’ and ‘Drug & Alcohol Rehabilitation’ to the Cairns North location, which I understand is already State-owned, plus relocation of another two (2) ‘Women’ and ‘Children’ facilities to State-owned land at Smithfield, the provision for future expansion at all three locations would provide Cairns with world class specialist Medical Hospitals for the next fifty (50) plus years.  

These common sense solutions, and funding, are the responsibility at both State and Federal levels of government AND, I hasten to add, the residents of Cairns and surroundings areas are fully aware of this fact, as the electorate is far more politically sophisticated and informed now than it was three years ago. 

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In this artificial atmosphere before an election, we are told that unemployment is at a modern all time low. 

Well so it should be. Our unemployment figures have been grossly distorted for years by the simple means of changing the definition of an unemployed person.

Today a person is considered to be employed even if they complete just one (1) hour of work a week. 

While I support the concept of everyone contributing to our society in some way or other, what I do not condone is the overt manipulation of statistics to create a deceptive and misleading impression of the real unemployment statistics in Australia, undeniably approaching 20% when taking all factors into account. 

Surely it would be better to embark upon a program of employment creation, with severe financial penalties placed upon those companies who outsource Australian jobs to foreign countries, particularly by companies in which our Government is a major shareholder.

Another option would be to start looking after Australian primary and secondary industries. 

In fact, our Federal Government seems hell-bent on building level playing fields for the rest of the world to screw us on! 

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No other country in the world is more dependent on transport than Australia. So why is the present fuel price extortion allowed to continue? 

The claims and counter claims about fuel prices continue to frustrate an already bewildered public. OPEC blames the Australian Government’s tax take, while the Government blames OPEC for extorting the barrel price. In Australia we get a double whammy because of the relative weakness of our dollar against the US currency. 

The truth is, both governments and OPEC are to blame. Our own Federal government takes over 47 cents in the dollar from every litre of fuel. Of this they remit about 9 cents to the States. The Federal Government claims that they need the revenue to provide for all the services that we demand. However, the Governments’ take is so large, and obviously has such a large impact on the price, there has to be a better way. 

It was under then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser that John Howard, the then Treasurer, introduced ‘World Parity Pricing’ for Australian petroleum products. 

‘World Parity Pricing’ is part of John Howard plan to “integrate our economy” with other nations and to seek interdependence with other countries in the new global market, and that includes being dependent on foreign oil. 

It was Labor’s Paul Keating, the World’s Greatest Treasurer, who linked alcohol, tobacco and fuel to the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) so as price increases would occur automatically every quarter instead of making annual adjustments via the budget. 

Of significant importance in the lead-up to the 2007 federal election is that neither the Labor nor Liberal parties have addressed the issue of Australia’s outrageous fuel prices, which have a negative effect on every item of food, clothing, services, produce or other item purchased by consumers… regardless whether they own a vehicle or not! 

The adverse effects on our primary producers and secondary industries have already caused family break-ups, financial ruin and, in some instances, tragic results! 

As Australia is an oil-producing nation in its own right, and has the capabilities to refine its own fuel products, the world parity pricing ‘rip-off’ must be rescinded… NOW!

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