We have huge quantities of coal,natural gas and resources which we sell to countries like China for a song,yet charge high prices for it domestically.Govts could also reduce their corporate tax take since 50% gets lost in the bureaucracy.

With Aust being a small market why not simply pass a law that our natural resources are sold domestically are far cheaper rates to Aust industry and consumers.BHP Biliton after all only have the leases and do not technically own the resources.Selling cheaper to such a small market as ours,ill hardly affect their bottom line.

Our state Govts talk about making energy far more expensive,but that will not help our exports or current account deficit.

China has far cheaper labour that will continue for decades to come,so why not even up the score?This will give our manufacturing/farming industries an advantage so they can compete internationally.It will also help stop the brain drain as we develop our own industries.

Also domestically,our living standards will rise and we can strive to become more independant of the multi-nationals.Ordinary people will actually be able to save and be able to buy shares instead of being slaves to Govt and big business.

Now do your best to pick holes in my argument.

Ordinary people will NEVER actually be able to save and be able to buy shares as they are heading to a level of wages equal to the Chinese working class.
I do believe that some who thought they were purchasing and trading shares have now discovered that the Banks owned them and has claimed them back and sold them regardless of whether you thought you purchase the shares off your Broker.
The pretend Federal Court of Australia has just setteled that areguement. We can thank the legal profession again for this scamm that has cost many people millions.

Young Dan never say NEVER.Things can be changed if enough people clarify our problems and have the will to effect change.Aussies are just too apathetic.

Petrol in China is currently 70c a litre.We are paying more than double this amount.Just a couple of years ago natural gas was 30c a litre now it is 70c/L.We own the gas yet pay world prices.It does not make sense.The world is not a level playing field and are mad not to use our natural advantages.

People will argue that cheaper fuel will not bring about smaller more fuel efficient vehicles.Simple solution;private vehicles with large engines get taxed to the hilt.Large commercial vehicles don't and thus products can be delivered more cheaply.

Well Arjay, there is much debate going on, about using LNG to power
vehicles, which seems to not be a problem. LNG is already piped
to many homes, so you could avoid the service station and fill up
the gas tank from home. The oil companies would not be pleased :(

http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2007/s2230825.htm

That might create a few hiccups when it comes to taxes etc, but
it sure would be cheaper then freezing the stuff to incredible
depths and exporting it, which in itself is hugely expensive.

Coal seam gas seems to be a huge new resource available even in
the East, so I'd say it needs a few brave souls to perhaps import
some LNG suitable vehicles and test the system!

Dear Arjay... welcome to the world of "Machievelli"

"Why not pass a law which"....ahAH!... "who" makes the laws?

Is it not the 'high flying elite/rich/powerful' who seek to persuade we masses about "national interest" when in reality they mean 'THEIR' corporate interest? Which of course translates down to the CEO and his senior executives and their huge bonuses etc...

I agree with you, but until we can see renewed people who can live with modesty rather than:

<<The house is a four-storey Alex Tzannes-designed glass and concrete mansion Symond has spent the past eight years building on a prime piece of Point Piper waterfront. Reports put its value at anything from $30-50 million.>>

or his property developer brother...

<<$25 MILLION VIEW Property developer Simon Symond, brother of Aussie Home Loans' John Symond, has listed his Cremorne Point penthouse with expectations of more than $25 million>>

No wonder unions are rather 'irate' over worker pay rates?

It seems we are witnessing nothing less than the same rampant greed and drooling for the transient luxuries of this life, that the French Aristocracy did, (while the people starved), just before the revolution took off most of their heads.

Perhaps the biggest advantages to capitalise on are the abundant sunshine and open spaces, and technological advances are fast making this a reality.

On the solar front, solar thermal power plants are already feasible and being constructed. Photovoltaic advances are not only starting to challenge the retail price of electricity generation, but the wholesale price.

http://www.sunrgi.com/media.html

On the energy storage front, silicon nanowire anodes offer the promise of increasing the energy density of lithium ion batteries eightfold. This would see the Tesla electric sports car traveling over 400 km on a battery weighing less than 60 kg. There is also the Eestor capacitor which would end the problem of baseload power and rapidly advance the development of electric vehicles if feasible.

The production of synthetic crude oil and gasoline from organic waste is a recent breakthrough of the fast developing science of catalysed pyrolysis.

Peak oil is ever more likely to be due to reduced demand than reducing capacity.

A major problem is that all the renewable pollution free alternatives are no where near their full potential to replace the fossil fuels.

There is plenty of energy in Aust and our development as an economy is being retarded by greedy small minded thinking.China and India are developing at our expense,and the time for action is now.

Kevin Rudd just took off the subsidy for car natural gas conversions.How stupid is that?I don't think the right hand is even aware of the left hand.

It is time also the manufacturers perfected the LPG fuel system because it does have reliability problems that need addressing.

"A major problem is that all the renewable pollution free alternatives are no where near their full potential to replace the fossil fuels."

Is this a problem? It would be a problem if renewables were at their full potential. This is far from the case and a good thing. Good, because many renewable technologies are becoming competitive with other energy sources now.

That renewables are not greatly developed is hardly a surprise either, given that there has been hardly a perception of need for them until a few years ago. What is remarkable is the rate of progress. Who would have believed that photovoltaic could challenge coal generation on a cost basis a few years ago? Yet this is happening now.

Very soon it may be that the moral choice is also the cheapest alternative.

*What is remarkable is the rate of progress. Who would have believed that photovoltaic could challenge coal generation on a cost basis a few years ago?*

Fester, I agree with you. We forget that in the late 90s, oil was
still around 10$ a barrel, nobody bothered with the research.

Its only in the last few years that the Americans realised that
they were in a corner when it comes to energy, so venture capital
got serious about finding solutions. Huge amounts of money and
talent have been thrown at the problem and results are starting
to show. Stay tuned folks!

It is also interesting that the cost of a barrel of oil is now $120.00,yet airfares still remain cheap compared to ocean or land travel.30% of your air ticket is made up of fuel costs and unless air travel companies find cheaper alternatives,the entire industry will suffer a serious recession.
Jet aeroplanes cannot use natural gas,the fuel must be in a liquid form.Unless OPEC stop these price increases,they too will become victims of their own avarice.

I agree with the premise of this article

But we always make it much harder for the locals than tose we export to
For example
Wood chips to Japan, How come these are not made into biofuel and charcoal for Terra preta agriculture?

The double tax on fuel I have argued against this on this and other forums
EG
In Australia we have have plenty of land in Queensland to grow more sugar cane. Sugar cane would be a good way of making biofuels. Better than USA subsidised corn.
I would like to see a tax break for Queensland farmers as I prefer to see my petrol money going to them rather than huge multi-nationals.

Petrol excise in Australia is a tax that discriminates against the poor and those living in remote rural areas. It makes exports more expensive and adds to the cost of anything and everything that needs to be planted, made or moved.
A very bad inflationary, regressive tax, very little of which is spent improving roads or road safety.
http://forums.permaculture.org.au/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=5500&hilit=petrol+excise

Young Dan;
You got it wrong the broker lost the shares because the owners agreed to
them being used as security against a loan.

It does not happen except in circumstances such as that.

I had not heard that the LPG subsidy was being canceled for cars.
I think the reason is that Kevin Rudd does not believe in peak oil
and as their is no risk of an oil shortage such subsidies are not needed.
That is where the PM will get part of his savings that the treasurer is
making so much noise about.

As he does not believe that there is a longer term fuel risk you now
know why the summit was not allowed to waste its time on peak oil.

Arjay

You said "Kevin Rudd just took off the subsidy for car natural gas conversions.How stupid is that?I don't think the right hand is even aware of the left hand."

Where did you get this info from?

As I understand it, the Liberal Party is conducting a scare campaign (they're very good at that) before the May budget:

http://www.liberal.org.au/info/news/detail/20080422_ScrappingLPGsubsidywilladdtopetrolpain.php

I too would be surprised if this policy was dumped (it was introduced in Howard's political dying days to salvage his "green" carrots).

It may be prudent to wait and see before everybody gets their knickers in a knot over misinformation or malicious intent ... don't you think?

Nevertheless, I like the 'thrust' of your thread ... much food for thought.

Q&A I heard this from a person in the industry.Perhaps it has not reached the media.Perhaps it is Kevin testing our awareness.
I don't trust either side of politics anymore,since the bottom line is that of donations.Those industries who donate the most,get the most Govt favours.At a State level there is a lot of corruption.So long as there are Swiss bank accounts and the cash economy,our Govts will be corrupted.

Arjay, yeah – who would want to be a politician? Topic for another thread?

I don’t know if that assertion of that ‘industry’ person is true and we will have to wait, another week. Maybe the subsidy will be ‘wound back’ given it has been very successful – it would have some ‘use-by-date’.

I would like to see it continue but hey, any treasurer/razor gang in Oz today is going to find it tough.

Also, rather than just this subsidy, I would like to see more tax breaks, rebates or subsidies go to renewable energy resources and reduce the subsidies to big-end energy users like aluminium smelters.

As for so called ‘clean coal’ and CC&S (and their subsidies) – that’s years away. But I understand why the coal industry is lobbying so hard.

“Selling off” the NSW power industry is another topical issue (I really feel for Belly) that is related to issues you raise but is better left to his current thread.

And don’t get me onto Uranium and nuclear power!

Bottom line - Australia is well endowed with energy resources (some more than others) and yes, we should be able to capitalise both here and abroad. Of course there are caveats, but it is the new way of doing things that we should embrace.

As for donations/corruption and Swiss bank accounts – I think I’ll pass.