I agree with you Frank.Kevin Rudd's office is run by two 28 yr olds and according to the Australian,in total chaos.The script reads like a Get Smart spoof.He has got the the public service off side,and secret agent Kevin 737 is on a mission to save the planet from nuclear weaponry.

Kevin 737 has spent too much time in the cone of silence flying around the planet and the evil chaos is out to get him,only Kevin doesn't realise that it was that it was his own Dept who created Chaos in the cone of silence.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of secret agent super Kev 737.Faster than a speeding bull$hit,more powerful than an introspective,able to leap to tall conclusions in a single bound!

Arjay that post do you want to be judged by it?
I can think of others who could have posted it but truly did not think you could.
Are you aware fuel tax has not changed under Rudd?
That we pay at the very same rates we did under Howard?
Are you not aware only a fraction of what we pay is spent on roads?
That indeed much is funneled into other things.
What section of the country's wellbeing would suffer funding cuts in your tax less plan?
I think you however highlight a conservative fault, complaining about ALP policy's they would not change themselves if in power.
Hugely uninformed that post.
Please inform us how you would fill the black hole no tax on fuel would give us who suffers first?

I know you had high hopes belly, but its now time to face the facts. The man is a twit.
He has had his mouth in gear & running, ever since elected. If he ever engages his brain, I'm afraid you will find its a 1950s two stroke motor mower power unit, & pretty useless for larger tasks.

Working out what to do, & how to do it, is way beyond this bloke. Hard times are a-coming, & this bloke is all at sea, without a rudder, [sorry about that]. Bad as they may be, fuel taxes will be the least of our worries, with this dill in charge.

Belly,
'Are you aware fuel tax has not changed under Rudd?
That we pay at the very same rates we did under Howard?
Are you not aware only a fraction of what we pay is spent on roads?
That indeed much is funneled into other things.'

So why did we change government? None of the above has changed (ie business as usual).
Age-discrimination in military superannuation pensions hasn't changed.
Wayne Swan won't even reply to my correspondence on that over the last six months (at least Costello's department replied even if to refuse to fix it).

I think that you were justified in having high hopes for Rudd before he was elected but, now that he has failed us, don't be an apologist for him. He's just a Mr Nobody - as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike or a chocolate fireplace.

Hasbeen has Rudd's character to a 'T'.

"I agree with most of your comments, but would prefer direct charging to fuel taxes if it can be done efficiently, for a couple of reasons.

But it can't be done efficiently. You cannot charge people a higher toll if they've got a bootfull of steel, or if they put their foot down and brake too much. But you will get that in a fuel tax.

"Firstly, some roads are more costly to build and maintain than others – the drivers who impose the biggest costs should pay the most.

The people who use the biggest, most expensive roads should generally be paying less, not more. That's because the most expensive roads have the highest traffic and are thus used most efficiently. The roads that really cost the most on a per use basis are the small rural roads. Again, taxes will internalise this far better than tolls.

"Second, direct charging allows other costs besides road maintenance to be captured, such as varying charges by time of day to deter congestion and/or excessive pollution.

Pollution is pollution regardless of when it is emitted. We breathe 24 hours a day.

"Maybe in future we could electronically tag cars and automatically charge them according to where and when they travel – great for economic efficiency

It is less economically efficient than fuel taxes. Fuel taxes require no extra infrastructure. Tag systems require massive investments in infrastructure and bureaucracy.

"Are you not aware only a fraction of what we pay is spent on roads?
That indeed much is funneled into other things.

Can you back this up Belly?

"So why did we change government? None of the above has changed (ie business as usual).

I'm hoping Rudd will put up the price of fuel and electricity.

Well if the ones bashing Rudd support the Liberal party they will not receive any sympathy from me. After the Liberals contempt for Australians imprisoned and tortured overseas by our allies and their support for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, they are no better. This constant oscillation between the major parties that are almost identical is asinine because they are now so similar it makes little difference whom we elect.