Senators Turn Blind Eye To FuelWatch
Robert Wilson
13 August 2008
www.wheelsmag.com.au
The Federal Government's scheme to regulate fuel prices is losing support, both from the Public and the Senate.
The Federal Government's national FuelWatch scheme seems doomed after losing the support two key independent senators, whose favourable nod was needed to get it passed in the upper house.
Family First senator Steve Fielding has joined independent Nick Xenophon in saying he would not support the scheme as it stands.
The Government needs the support of the five Green senators and the two independents to get the legislation passed.
The Green senators are still undecided, and will wait until the Senate inquiry into FuelWatch is finished.
Senator Xenophon said FuelWatch in Wstern Australia had wiped out independent fuel retailers. He also quoted reports from four government departments that said the scheme could lead to increased fuel prices.
"I can't support the Government's scheme, it just doesn't make sense," he told ABC Radio.
Senator Fielding agreed.
“Family First has serious concerns and we are still wanting to understand how it won't push average petrol prices up, and we also want to know how FuelWatch won't squeeze out independents," he told ABC radio.
"And until we are satisfied with those two questions, Family First can't support FuelWatch either.”
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Liquid Gas Injection Breakthrough
John Mellor
24 June 2008
www.goauto.com.au
LPG Liquid Injection tech to rival petrol engine consumption in Oz within a month.
The Australian car industry and Kevin Rudd’s struggling ‘working families’ could soon benefit from a completely new form of LPG technology that improves the fuel economy of LPG cars and significantly improves emissions.
Known as LPG Liquid Injection, the technology is said to produce fuel economy for LPG cars that is close to the petrol equivalent for the same car.
The exhaust emissions are also said to be significantly better than petrol or diesel vehicles because using liquid injection creates a much more complete fuel burn than using LPG vapour.
The imported liquid injection system, called JTG (Just Think Green), is expected to go on sale at LPG conversion workshops in late July.
Conversions will cost about $300 to $400 more than current conversions. The early focus will be in Falcons and Commodores before being rolled out to other makes and models.
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Diesel Doubts Continue
Philip Lord & Marton Pettendy
4 June 2008
www.goauto.com.au
The GoAuto investigation last week into the growing disparity in price between petrol and diesel fuel, and how it affects the time taken to repay the cost of diesel passenger cars versus petrol cars, attracted a strong response from readers in favour of diesel vehicles.
While the story deliberately dealt only with the impact of increased diesel prices and the dramatic direct impact it has on the time it takes to repay the initial outlay, many readers have argued that we did not include important factors such as the resale value or servicing costs of diesel vehicles – and that there are some diesels that do not cost any more than an equivalent petrol version to buy.
Diesel cars sold in Australia that are also offered as a petrol generally cost extra. As a rule, the diesel passenger car price premium is between $1000 and $4000. Only six diesel models carry the same price as the petrol version, with two actually being cheaper (the Volkswagen Passat and Eos).
Our examples last week used a generous annual distance of 20,000km, but according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics publication 'Survey of Motor Vehicle Use', the average annual mileage for the Australian vehicle fleet is 14,600km.
This average includes the articulated truck average annual distance of 88,300km, meaning that the private Australian car travels even less than 14,600km.
Using the 14,600km figure, the time to pay off the estimated diesel premium on the sticker price will take much longer than our estimates last week – which in the 2010 Falcon’s case is 23 years at current fuel prices.
If diesel rises to $1.94 and petrol stays the same price, in our example using a diesel Falcon the diesel advantage would be nullified and the initial cost penalty would not be returned by better fuel efficiency.
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LPG Advantage Grows
Marton Pettendy
27 May 2008
www.goauto.com.au
LPG offers ‘immense’ savings over diesel and petrol per annum.
The price of diesel may be soaring ahead of both petrol and LPG, but based on an average price of 65 CPL, LPG-powered versions of both the current FG Falcon and VE Commodore still take just one and three years respectively to negate their higher purchase prices – before the federal government’s LPG vehicle subsidy is factored in.
The latter provides a $2000 rebate for private motorists who convert a petrolpowered vehicle to run on LPG Autogas and $1000 for a new LPG vehicle. More than 125,000 private motorists have converted their vehicles or bought new LPG-powered vehicles with the help of the government grants since the scheme was introduced in August 2006.
LPG Australia last week said the savings offered by LPG vehicles have never been greater, with Autogas retail prices remaining at least 90 cents lower than last week’s new record petrol price of $1.60 per litre. Last month the national average ULP price was $142.9 per litre, compared to 66.3 cents for Autogas.
“While LPG is not immune from price fluctuations caused by world oil markets,
Autogas typically sells for less than half the price per litre of ULP petrol. Over the course of a calendar year it clearly offers an immense savings advantage,” said LPG Australia industry development manager Phil Westlake.
“If you are spending $80 per week on petrol now, you’ll be spending $40 or less on Autogas. That’s $40 per week that stays in your back pocket.
“Even without a $2000 grant, a motorist who converts a six-cylinder engine to run on Autogas will recover their conversion investment in under two years – assuming they travel 25,000km per year and their
conversion cost $3000.
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Diesel Dilemma
Marton Pettendy
27 May 2008
www.goauto.com.au
Diesel prices soar relative to petrol, just as cleaner-burning Euro oilers gain pace.
The increasing disparity between petrol and diesel pump prices due to soaring demand for diesel fuel in Asia has dramatically increased the length of time it takes to recoup the extra cost of purchasing diesel cars, a GoAuto investigation has revealed.
The retail price of diesel in Sydney last week reached $1.80 per litre – up to 35 cents more than unleaded petrol at the same sites – and experts predict the recent earthquake in China could further increase the demand for diesel there and therefore its retail price here.
Last year, sales of petrol passenger cars to business purchasers rose by more than 88 per cent and sales to private buyers increased by almost 63 per cent. Sales of diesel passenger cars to private buyers have risen more than 50 per cent so far this year while private petrol car sales have dropped by five per cent.
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LPG Subsidy Reprieve Welcomed
James Stanford
19 May 2008
www.goauto.com.au
The LPG industry and the VACC have welcomed a stay of execution for the federal government’s LPG subsidy scheme.
There had been speculation in the lead-up to the budget that the LPG subsidy would be axed.
So far, the scheme has seen $250 million of assistance given to motorists converting their engines to LPG or purchasing new LPG models since it was introduced in August 2006.
It was reported in the lead-up to the federal budget that the Expenditure Review Committee had decided to discontinue the program ahead of its proposed 2014 end date.
Instead, the government announced it will provide an additional $19.1 million in 2007/08 for the LPG scheme in response to rising demand.
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Car-Makers Fail To Back LPG Subsidy
James Stanford
5 May 2008
www.goauto.com.au
Ford Australia and GM Holden are not worried that the existing LPG subsidy could be scrapped in the upcoming budget.
While the Federal Liberal party, VACC and LPG Australia have all voiced their opposition to the potential axing of the LPG assistance scheme for private customers, Ford and Holden do not share their concerns.
As of April, 120,231 people had qualified for the subsidy that was introduced in August 2006, but fewer than 1500 of those bought new cars that could run on LPG.
More than $239 million has been handed out under the scheme so far. Grants are available for private customers who buy a new car running LPG or have a used car converted to run on gas.
Under the scheme, private customers get a $2000 subsidy for having their used car converted to LPG and receive $1000 for buying a new vehicle that runs on LPG.
In an interesting twist, the new dual-fuel VE Commodore LPG attracts a $2000 subsidy because the conversion work is done by HSV in Clayton after the car is manufactured even though it is still technically a new car.
Single-fuel E-Gas Falcon models only qualify for a $1000 subsidy because the LPG work is done in-house at the time of manufacture.
This detail has not had much of an effect on sales, with Holden previously admitting the LPG Commodore, which was introduced with the VE Commodore in 2006, was not selling as well as expected.
Holden said that LPG cars accounted for around 5 per cent of Commodore sales last year, and only a very small percentage of those were private sales.
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