Graham, why on earth should oil comapnies be interested in
ethanol? It just adds to their infrastructure costs after all,
so its easiest to just peddle away on petroleum , as per the
past.

Your problem seems to be that you are seeking a magic bullet,
as are many, to solve everything. Forget all that.

Just see ethanol as one of a myriad of energy supplies.
Sometimes it will be competitive, sometimes not.

The future lies in the diversity of energy products, not
in one particular magic pill.

Another diversion. I never said it was a magic pill - that's what you're implying. What I said was that mandating it was a bad idea. If using it makes any sense then oil producers and/or retailers will pick it up without governments forcing the to use it.

You ask "why on earth should oil comapnies be interested in
ethanol?" They'd be interested if it was cheaper than petrol, reliable (we haven't even touched on fluctuations in supply and price because of harvest conditions) and able to be substituted because it would give them an edge over their competitors.

You might remember not so long ago that some of the independents in Sydney and Melbourne were in trouble for adding ethanol to petrol so as to make it cheaper (this only works because ethanol is exempt from excise). So, it will be used if it is legal and available, because it has been used when it was illegal and available.

I also said it was a bad idea because it competes directly with food usage which will have a cost effect for those who eat, as well as also making its way into the price of petrol and making it uncompetitive as a fuel additive on price.

Every way you look at it, it is the opposite of a magic pill!

"If using it makes any sense then oil producers and/or retailers will pick it up without governments forcing the to use it."

Well thats the problem, most likely they won't. Look at LPG,
its been around for ages, cheap as chips, but consumers are pissed
off that its not available everywhere, so many never converted.

At the end of the day, it makes sense for the major oil companies
to stick by where they have their investments, ie. oil wells,
refineries, retail distribution. Biofuels simply add cost, extra
investments etc, to their system and is basically a pain in the arse
for them, even if its good for the country as a whole to start
addressing the issue of sustainable energy.

Fact is, a few cents difference in price does not matter to the
majors. If they make money on the wells, make money on refining,
as long as they have a certain % market share, with as little investment as possible, they are doing fine, thank you very much.
You the consumer, will buy the stuff anyhow.

The problem with biofuels is that they are at an embryonic stage
and need a guaranteed market to get going. At the end of the day,
they will benefit everyone, for if there is more supply around,
prices for Arab oil will drop.

Food prices are already below the cost of production alot of the time, due to the 1 billion$ a day subsidies paid by the EU and
US. Biofuels will throw a spanner in the works there and will be
great for the Australian economy. So they should be a win-win
situation for all concerned, in the longer term.

A politician that promises something thats the best joke I;ve heard all day.

Seriously as if this guy is going to do anything with Ethanol. If Australia wanted to. Australia could run more vehicles off Ethanol and cut down the oil we use. But since the whole world is controlled by the Oil corporations that will never happen.

If the Ethanol is ever introduced into petrol the media will come up with some [deleted for obscenity]story that it wrecks cars. That will make people fear it.

[Deleted for obscenity]We dont need to use oil as fuel. But we will be for a long time because some Greedy men have a lot of money and can sway a lot of people in power. [Poster suspended for a week.]

And it gets worse. Now Lawrence Springborg is promising a 10c rebate for ethanol. If ethanol stacks up, it stacks up without bribing people to use it. Unfortunately, this is an example of pork barrel politics at its worst, and you can see why Beattie got away with it - because the Coalition wanted to bribe voters in sugar seats too. It's times like this I think we need a fourth political force that will be content to hold only a minority of seats, but use its numbers to influence the majors to take-up rational policies.