Labor is turning a blind eye to price hikes

Seano says:

06:43am | 01/02/11

Does Gillard have talons and horns and eat babies too?

Who do you think you’re convincing with this rhetoric? There can’t be than many who’ve also lost their tin foil hats.

Jade says:

09:59am | 01/02/11

@ Seano, who needs convincing? most people see her and her government for what they are.

Seano says:

10:31am | 01/02/11

@Jade - judging by the last election “most people” could see Tony Abbott and the opposition “fow what they are” too.

WayneT says:

01:00pm | 01/02/11

Seano, would that be why the election was basically a dead heat with no clear winner?  It required independents to make the final call.  It appears the public didn’t like Gillard’s BS either.

John A Neve says:

06:38pm | 01/02/11

A the M,
Perhaps you could tell us how this is a political issue?

In this country we opted for a free enterprize system, we don’t like government control, do we?

We sold off just about all the publics assets, free enterprize is better, isn’t it”

Well this is free enterprize at it’s very best, pay up and stop whinging.

Seano says:

08:42pm | 01/02/11

@Wayne - Yes that’s the point I was making, Abbott is no more popular than Gillard.

Nafe says:

11:49am | 01/02/11

As a liberal supporter, it would be interesting to know that the Liberal Party would do to relieve Petrol Pricing.

As much as i like the current crop of liberals, at some point, an alternative policy is needed to prove some lagitimacy as an alternative government.

Muttley says:

01:10pm | 01/02/11

Spot on. What the hell will the libs do that is any different. This is just more mindless PR. Labour hopeless. No argument, and that is from a life long Labour supporter. But if the libs want any credibilty at all, dont just whine. Tell us how you would make a difference.

Seano says:

01:11pm | 01/02/11

Anything would be better than the empty whinging they’re giving us at the moment. Personally I don’t think any pollie, regardless of politcal stripe should open their trap to crticise the other side unless it’s to also offer us a better alternative.

Dave-o says:

04:49pm | 01/02/11

They didn’t do nothing, the introduced an LPG rebate….. which is being capped to pay for the flood clean-up.

persephone says:

07:32pm | 01/02/11

Dave o

And before that, they raised the taxes on LPG.

MarK says:

09:24am | 01/02/11

No he won’t.

He will not do a Rudd and make insanely stupid promises that he will cut the cost of living by tossing a few tens of millions at a website. He will not tell lies like Gillard does to secure an election and then flip flop using a natural disaster as cowardly political cover for revenue raising.

What Abbott will do is what he already done. Make sensible and coherent economic policy that gives Australia the best chance to keep an even keel during times of economic uncertainty.

You know. Like the 12 years of Howard and Costello did that ensured the GFC was not that bad here?

Only one party makes outrageous and totally ridiculous lies about their ability to do “something” and then reneges..

Only one party delivers surpluses and economic management that is sane on a consistent basis.

Only one party promises the utterly incredulous statement that it WILL deliver a surplus on a given date.

It ain’t that hard to see who the grown ups are.

Given Labor’s track record of lack of achievement over its 2 PM’s and 1 term and a bit in power I find it amusing you are trying to tease out of Sophie the solution. Run out of ideas? How is that Carbon Tax coming along?

James1 says:

09:50am | 01/02/11

I can’t wait for this utopia you speak of MarK.  You just make it sound so good…

This is not to say I support the current government, but if you keep your hopes as high as they are, you will be seriously disappointed when the Coalition comes to power again (it is only a matter of time - sorry nossy!) and it turns out to be full of politicians who act just like politicians.  I wish I had your blind faith, I really do.  You are a genuine true believer, MarK.  To you, the Coalition is as perfect as Labor is to pers.

Tim says:

12:25pm | 01/02/11

MarK,
what no promises like an insane parental leave program paid for by business that goes against Liberal philosophy?
No Abbott would never make wild promises to try to get into power.
*snickers*

The Badger says:

01:00pm | 01/02/11

tim
You mean the one that was to be paid for by a levy? Oops, sorry a great big new tax to use the liberal vernacular.
Like the milk, sugar, gun buyback and other great new big taxes brought in by the big taxing conservatives?
Wonder how many other “great big new taxes” the conservatives have on the planning board.

The website mark is trying to rubbish because his beloved conservatives blocked saves me at lease 20 dollars every time I fill up in West Australia. Don’t know about anyone else, but spending 20$ less every time I fill up, does cut my cost of living expenses.
Perhaps mark doesn’t drive.

MarK says:

01:12pm | 01/02/11

“I can’t wait for this utopia you speak of MarK.  You just make it sound so good…”

Utopia? Nah just business as usual without the waste.

”  This is not to say I support the current government, but if you keep your hopes as high as they are, you will be seriously disappointed when the Coalition comes to power again (it is only a matter of time - sorry nossy!) and it turns out to be full of politicians who act just like politicians.”

Errr what hopes? I said a few truths that is all. Fell free to tell me where I went on a hope train?

Was it when I said “Only one party delivers surpluses and economic management that is sane on a consistent basis.” Is that wrong? Does Labor deliver deliver surpluses consistently and not waste money like a drunken sailor?

Or “Only one party promises the utterly incredulous statement that it WILL deliver a surplus on a given date.” - please point out where the coalition has given this promise.

What exactly is the utopian part of my post?

Feel free to quote liberally (no pun intended). My hopes are not “high” at all. Do I think the coalition would be better economic managers than Rudd - Gillard - Swan. Well yah. Is that a radical idea?

Very interesting. You seem to read a whole lot more into what I wrote than is there.

”  I wish I had your blind faith, I really do.”

Blind faith? hahahahahahahaha

Really after fuel watch, the BER, green schemes, pin batts, free jets for tourists etc etc etc you think I don’t have any empirical evidence to back up my claim?

You can’t be serious can you?

  “You are a genuine true believer, MarK”

Actually I am not. I am a conservative. First time I voted for the Nationals in or liberals in many a year was this election just gone.

Really you don’t read what I write and just take it to nth degree on no basis.

”  To you, the Coalition is as perfect as Labor is to pers.”

Nothing is that perfect. And I feel the Libs have many flaws.

Feel free to contradict me with all the examples where I have heaped glowing praise on the Liberals. Please do it. I admire Abbott a lot. He took a party that was, in a lot of commentators eyes gone for a generation if not forever and made them competitive. He saw Rudd gone. He will see Gillard go.

When he is in power I will critique his work as well. Right now he is an extremely effective opposition leader. That is all. He also has Labor troggs in a flap.

I find that as funny as hell.

@Tim - It was a weird promise. It came from left field. One thing I can say at least he would have implemented it. He has guts. Unlike others who change it all up. *snickers and dances like a drunken pelican*

How is the star recruit going anyway? What was he in charge of again? Getting the coffee? Ohhhh that’s right he is one of the 7,467 education ministers. Just enough to spread accountability.

Tim says:

01:44pm | 01/02/11

C’mon MarK,
you were having a go at others for relying on hypotheticals in the other thread, don’t start using them yourself.
I actually think Abbott would have dropped that parental leave scheme like a hot stone if he got into office. It was very strange.
All I want from my politicians are some good ideas and consistency and Labor are about as consistent as the running of my 1990 Daewoo.
However, articles like this that present no ideas just come across as a massive whinge. Sophie should either put up her ideas or shut up.

James1 says:

01:49pm | 01/02/11

Maybe I have been misreading you MarK.  I just assumed that you think things will be different under the other side, based on the things you say, like “Only one party promises the utterly incredulous statement that it WILL deliver a surplus on a given date.”

Actually, not only one party does that.  Most of them do, in case you didn’t notice.  At least since they decided that surpluses were a good thing.

Or “Only one party makes outrageous and totally ridiculous lies about their ability to do “something” and then reneges.”  Actually, they all do that too.

Or “He will not tell lies like Gillard does to secure an election and then flip flop”.  I hate to break it to you, but he probably will.  If you honestly believe that, be prepared for disappointment, is all I am saying.

On the economic utopia you have foreseen, you offered us this: “What Abbott will do is what he already done. Make sensible and coherent economic policy that gives Australia the best chance to keep an even keel during times of economic uncertainty.”  Compared to what we have now, that is a utopia.  Also it won’t happen.  Like any other politician, he will make economic policy that gives his party the best chance of being reelected.

I am also a conservative, but I am a realist first.  And wonderful as he may seem to you, Tony Abbott is a politician, and that makes him slightly more trustworthy than a real estate agent in my view.

Mitch says:

02:16pm | 01/02/11

Interventionist policy trying to keep prices down is the driving force for this kind of rip off behaviour from large companies. They exploit the laws that try to cap their prices by telling the public that the cost of conforming to the new rules is large and as a publicly listed company their first responsibility is to the shareholders. Nevermind that a majority of shareholders only have small stakes and their dividends don’t cover the cost of their petrol…

Coles and Woolies are obviously working together to limit competition and create a duopoly. To stop this kind of behavior, we need to remove any legislation that the companies can claim costs them money and drives prices higher, and force them to lower their prices accordingly.
We need tougher legislation to punish anticompetitive behavior and blatant profiteering. This will not affect the free market as companies gain business by remaining competitive with pricing, it is unacceptable that they be conversing with each other to equally share blame and create a perception that major price fluctuation be a normal part of life. Don’t put a cap on prices, rip the rug out from under them.

TChong says:

09:24am | 01/02/11

rob, i work a 38 hr week like most people, but my line of work involve outside standard 9 to 5 , so here I am.
BTW , have a look at the posts, plenty of people blog alot, about a wide variety of topics.
So on behalf of many regular Punchers, I’ll ask:
Whats your problem?
Sad-? go bite your bum, chum. 
( sincere apologies if you are new to this site, or else you have just started to mange to read more than 1 article a day, congratulations, hope you manage to read 2 or 3 articles, and comment)
The Punch is an interesting site,the different POVs make it all worthwhile, hopefully yours included.

Danny B says:

09:19am | 01/02/11

HappyCynic,

A weekly/fortnightly salary is a fixed amount, believe it or not.  Think of it as a bucket of water.  You can control how much water comes out of the bucket for each cost, but eventaully you’re going to get down to the last drops.  When you’ve been careful and still hit the bottom of the ‘bucket’ before covering costs of living, no amount of budgeting will fix this.

Rose says:

10:11am | 01/02/11

No but you could get a better job, a second job or do something (study, upskill) which gives you a higher earning potential Danny B.

Jason says:

09:14pm | 01/02/11

Your salary is only a fixed amount if you accept that.  For some, it’s easier to remain stagnant in their career or avoid learning new and more marketable skills and complain LOUDLY about a finite bucket to live on/expect government to look after you. 

For others, they just upskill, start a new business, get a better job,  get a bigger bucket and upgrade the hose.  There is lots of money out there, stop whining and go get your share.  It’s all personal choice in a competitive world and if you choose not to compete, more for those who do.

Steve M says:

01:14pm | 01/02/11

You are fortunate that Caltex (or is ir Shell) lets you log on during the day. Nice to have such a forgiving employer

Red says:

10:56am | 01/02/11

Fuel Watch was knocked on the head in the the Senate.
The Lib/Nats run a very successful Fuel Watch in WA.
I use the system and over the past year have paid 12c a Litre less than the average price

James1 says:

10:11am | 01/02/11

Doing what?  Apart from the taxes, governments do not control any of those things - the market does.  Even in the case of SOEs like some electricity companies, unless the government is willing to subsidise losses, the market is the primary influence on prices.

I understand that people are hurting, but what do they expect the government to do?  If the Coalition was in government, they would not do a thing, and rightly so.

I never get the point of these sorts of posts.

AdamC says:

10:35am | 01/02/11

I agree with James1, what can the government do?

And, I know pollies can’t say these sorts of things in real life, but are things really that bad? I mean, my grocery bill has probably risen since 2007, but it certainly hasn’t doubled. Aside from electricity costs, where something is clearly going wrong, I just don’t agree that these ‘cost of living pressures’ are as bad as some people are making out.

Mike T says:

11:31am | 01/02/11

@ Felxo….

Great post mate, but can i pull you up on one thing (and this goes to alot of other people).

Please drop the “strugling Families” line!!! Just change it to strugling people. Do you honestly think times are any easier for singles (try getting a mortgage on one wage) or a pensioner. Im not having a go at you, just pointing out that “non families” have as much hardship as any other group in society and we need to stop this push of “whats in it for families”.... you are not entitled to special circumstance because you have a wife and kids…..

Flexo says:

11:39am | 01/02/11

Sorry my mistake, when nicola roxon approved the private health insurance hike she wan’t part of the government, and the tax on fuel and this silly thing called the GST must be some private citizen policy. Oh that ‘something is clearly going wrong in electricity’ statement AdamC must be related to a non-government effort. Yes…right….the government isn’t really involved…..I see…....good to know…....

mike T says:

11:42am | 01/02/11

@ James…..

I agree with you no governement has total control around the rising cost of living, but to make the statement that the rising cost of the things Flexo refers to is simply BS. Many of the rising costs can be direclty linked to incompetence or a “solution by taxes” mentaility. Case in point

1. The costs of fuel ARE taxed (so govt somewhat sets the price)
2. Power costs are being hiked/taxed, by the govt in to pay for repair of an unkept power grid and to fuel green schemes
3. The Governement can/does subsidise priavate health, aswell they aprove costs in what the companies are allowed to charge the consumer
4. New taxes are being introduced by the current govt (carbon, flood levy).

MarK says:

01:13pm | 01/02/11

“Doing what?  Apart from the taxes, governments do not control any of those things - the market does.”

Why did Rudd and Gillard lie that they could then?

Muttley says:

01:21pm | 01/02/11

Mike T, Can you not see how supporting multiple people on a wage is more difficult than supporting one? So the phrase about struggling families is appropriate.

James1 says:

01:55pm | 01/02/11

MarK,

Because they are politicians.  Its what they do to get elected.

charles says:

02:48pm | 01/02/11

The cost rises have come since the ALP came into power.

No amount of excuses will change this. Whats worse is they said (lied) that they will bring the cost of living down.

They are the cold hard truths and the only thing I and millions care about. I don’t want excuses, I want what they promised.

James1 says:

03:02pm | 01/02/11

Charles, one could say that cost rises have occurred always, and be correct.  It is part of a capitalist economy that inflation occurs.  If you thought that Rudd and Gillard would bring prices down because they said they would, then perhaps there is a lesson in this for you.

You need to adjust your expectations to conform to reality, along with millions of others, rather than some pie in the sky promise made by a politician.

Mike T says:

04:32pm | 01/02/11

@ Mutley…

most “families” i know mate have two wages. In fact i know very few that dont, so im not sure where you live.

Is trying to run a family on 1.5-2 wages any easier then a single running a house one wage???? I think the tax concessions to “working families” are already sufficient, dont you?? or should the baby bonus/parental leave etc be double for you???

I state again, i am fully aware that some families strugle, but most of the sinlges i know also find it VERY difficult to EVER get to the point where they can own a house on one wage. So im just not sure why the word struggle and family needs to be linked, unless it’s by those searching for something a little extra.

Flexo says:

07:17am | 02/02/11

Mike T, you are right it isn’t just families who are struggling, everyone of us in this country is paying a price for having a pathetic ALP government in charge. Lets hope for the best mate and this Gillard bird and her cronies gets replaced before Easter.

AFR says:

12:54pm | 01/02/11

How about playing the ball, and not the man (or woman as it may be)?

St. Michael says:

03:45pm | 01/02/11

This would be the same Amber who believes that because she knows 2 parents who have autistic children that the MMR vaccine caused it?

Against the Man says:

05:15pm | 01/02/11

Gillard only cares about herself - family, friends the Australians that voted for her mean nothing to this selfish, self centered, poor excuse for a person. If she cared an ounce for this country how come she hasn’t done anything of great value for us? It is too much work and she would rather the easy way, so what if it doesn’t benefit us or our children’s future. That is the least of her concerns, that is way she never bothered with marriage or kids. There just isn’t room in the ‘real’ Julia universe for anyone or anything else…................