Price of petrol - political changes, etc

kevpun

kevpun

Likes Bikes
While our focus is taken by terrible things such as terrorist attacks and huge natural disasters, things are happening locally that are changing the way we'll live in the future.

Noticed how woolworths and coles have just about taken over all food, petrol and booze.

There's a few other factors, but fuel prices just keep going up - and your only relief is to use your supermarket shopper dockets!

Add to this the changes that are hitting the workplace and how this could potentially impact the average worker...

Local production of just about anything is threatened by the buying power of the retail giants and the flood of low quality cheap imports - which will soon be expensive to us an cheap to the big retailers when they've eliminated all choice.

Is it just me or do other people feel that big business and government are taking advantage of the moment?
 
johnny

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
No it's not just you. But it's no new thing really. Pulitzer and Hearst basically started the American/Spanish war in the late 1800's just to sell their newspapers!
 
scblack

scblack

Leucocholic
I shall reply to this tomorrow - I have a graph which shows how LITTLE the price of petrol has actually risen since 1980 to present, when compared with other matters. (The graph is at home).

It has risen something like 150% in that time, but Milk has risen 250% or something, house prices 600%, ASX 400%.

They are off the top of my head, I shall put it up correctly tomorrow.

Very surprising, really, when compared with other items.;)

*****EDIT - now look below for these numbers*****
 
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I

I-AM-TEH-FASTEST-11

Blitzkrieg Films
ON the subject of supermarkets and buying power, rumor has it, that when Corbet leaves woolworths Walmart is going to take over. Apparently they already own a large amount of of Woolies.
Now if everything goes to plan I guess we would see a bunch of Walmarts popping up, mainly I guess woolies converting to them (and big w? dick smith? who else is in that chain?).
If these guys can use their internetional buying power over here, then they could probably undersell everyone. That is if they don't have to go through Australian distributors, which could be the case.
Either way, what are your thoughts on this?


I also heard Woolies wants Pharmecuticals, how about that?
 
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Cave Dweller

Cave Dweller

Eats Squid
I-AM-TEH-FASTEST-11 said:
ON the subject of supermarkets and buying power, rumor has it, that when Corbet leaves woolworths Walmart is going to take over. Apparently they already own a large amount of of Woolies.
Now if everything goes to plan I guess we would see a bunch of Walmarts popping up, mainly I guess woolies converting to them (and big w? dick smith? who else is in that chain?).
If these guys can use their internetional buying power over here, then they could probably undersell everyone. That is if they don't have to go through Australian distributors, which could be the case.
Either way, what are your thoughts on this?
Click to expand...
Why would walmart want to start a pricing war, they are more likely to take advantage of the situation and make larger profits.
 
floody

floody

Wheel size expert
johnny said:
No it's not just you. But it's no new thing really. Pulitzer and Hearst basically started the American/Spanish war in the late 1800's just to sell their newspapers!
Click to expand...
Sorry, I missed this little corner of history, any chance you could elaborate on that one Johnny? sounds rather intriguing!
 
floody

floody

Wheel size expert
William Randolph Hearst [to his in-country illustrator]:
"Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war."

Bahaha! Gold.
 
Dumbellina

Dumbellina

Likes Dirt
scblack said:
I shall reply to this tomorrow - I have a graph which shows how LITTLE the price of petrol has actually risen since 1980 to present, when compared with other matters. (The graph is at home).

It has risen something like 150% in that time, but Milk has risen 250% or something, house prices 600%, ASX 400%.

They are off the top of my head, I shall put it up correctly tomorrow.

Very surprising, really, when compared with other items.;)
Click to expand...

Does your graph show the price of a "service" from a prostitute? Mine still blames the petrol prices for the recent price hike!
 
scblack

scblack

Leucocholic
I-AM-TEH-FASTEST-11 said:
ON the subject of supermarkets and buying power, rumor has it, that when Corbet leaves woolworths Walmart is going to take over. Apparently they already own a large amount of of Woolies.
Now if everything goes to plan I guess we would see a bunch of Walmarts popping up, mainly I guess woolies converting to them (and big w? dick smith? who else is in that chain?).
If these guys can use their internetional buying power over here, then they could probably undersell everyone. That is if they don't have to go through Australian distributors, which could be the case.
Either way, what are your thoughts on this?


I also heard Woolies wants Pharmecuticals, how about that?
Click to expand...
That does not make sense.:)

I just looked at their 2004 Annual Report (2005 not yet available), and Walmart is not listed as a major shareholder. Only three shareholders have more than 3% of the shares of the company.

So, no Walmart is not about to take over. As far as I am aware and can find out.

But, Woolworths and Walmart have had about a 15-20 years relationship, and WalMart's way of doing things is taken up a bit by Woolworths.

Roger Corbett is the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Woolworths. That means he is a Director, but mainly he is the Chief Officer of the company. He is the number one manager. He will own some shares, but probably not a material amount for the whole company.

Walmart would NOT have to be waiting for Roger Corbett to leave before they made any changes. IF they are a major shareholder, with enough influence, and they wished to do something like that, they would just do it. Corbett's main job directive is to put into action the directions of the Board. He would(and could not) not be stopping WalMart(or any major shareholder) doing what they wanted.

As for the Pharmaceuticals, Walmart do sell pharmaceuticals in their stores, as Chemists do not have a monopoly on prescriptions in America. Woolworths want to do the same here. It is a government dictated monopoly here in Australia.
 
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I

I-AM-TEH-FASTEST-11

Blitzkrieg Films
mh I dont know the exact details behind it, as with most rumors..and I dont pay enough attention to things like this.
But the source was pretty reliable considering the subject.
 
scblack

scblack

Leucocholic
Here's what I was talking about. Unfortunately I don't know how to draw pictures and put them up, but here's the figures:

***edit - and these price changes are from 1980-2005 ***

World Oil US barrel - up 100%
World Oil AUD barrel - up 150%
Aust CPI - up 200%
Litre milk - up 250%
Litre petrol - up 300%
Commodore - up 350%
Average Aust weekly wage - up 375%
All Ords ASX index - up 650%
Average Aust house price - up 700%

So there we have it - that graph is from Personal Investor magazine Oct/Nov issue.

So all those people who are screaming about how much petrol prices have increased, your average wage has gone up further, milk has nearly the same increase, and share values, and home values, have FAR outstripped the increase.

Now I'm not saying the petrol price is good - it hits me too, but its not as bad as many think - we do pay the third lowest price for petrol in the world behind USA and Mexico, so be thankful we don't pay as much as most Europeans.
 
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scblack

scblack

Leucocholic
Dumbellina said:
Does your graph show the price of a "service" from a prostitute? Mine still blames the petrol prices for the recent price hike!
Click to expand...
You've gotta stop picking up those petrol sniffers.:p
 
S.

S.

ex offender
Dumbellina said:
Does your graph show the price of a "service" from a prostitute? Mine still blames the petrol prices for the recent price hike!
Click to expand...
Why? It's YOUR car anyway!
 
johnny

johnny

I'll tells ya!
Staff member
floody said:
"Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war.
Click to expand...
Yeah she's a beauty that one isn't it?

Kevpun, your on the right story, I can't find the source that I learnt it from 4 years ago. Seems like Floody has though, or something the same. Hearst had sent his illustrator (no photographers back then) to see why the MAine sunk in Havana bay (or somewhere in Cuba). He wrote back saying that no one knows why it sunk, there's nothing going down here, bring me home. Hearst replied "Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I'll furnish the war".

Hearst whipped up public hysteria and forced the government to act on overwhelming public opinion and fabricated evidence, thus causing war.

You thought CNN/Fox-Murdoch was the epitome of media power/influence.....:eek:

Makes you want to punch a journo, doesn't it? :mad: :rolleyes:

Kevpun, just noticed the title of that page you've linked. "Remember the Maine". If I remember correctly that was actually Hearst's catch cry to fuel the public ire. It probably says that in the article, but I couldn't be bothered reading it....
 
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PINT of Stella. mate!

PINT of Stella. mate!

Many, many Scotches
scblack said:
Here's what I was talking about. Unfortunately I don't know how to draw pictures and put them up, but here's the figures:

World Oil US barrel - up 100%
World Oil AUD barrel - up 150%
Aust CPI - up 200%
Litre milk - up 250%
Litre petrol - up 300%
Commodore - up 350%
Average Aust weekly wage - up 375%
All Ords ASX index - up 650%
Average Aust house price - up 700%

So there we have it - that graph is from Personal Investor magazine Oct/Nov issue.


So all those people who are screaming about how much petrol prices have increased, your average wage has gone up further, milk has nearly the same increase, and share values, and home values, have FAR outstripped the increase.

Now I'm not saying the petrol price is good - it hits me too, but its not as bad as many think - we do pay the third lowest price for petrol in the world behind USA and Mexico, so be thankful we don't pay as much as most Europeans.
Click to expand...

It certainly makes for interesting reading although it doesn't really account for the various changes in political climate, exploration, technology and demand that have constantly affected the oil price in the last twenty five years.

For instance, just under 10 years ago (about 1998) Because of relative stability in the middle east and the rapid development of large fields in the former Soviet Union and West Africa (particularly the deepwater stuff off Angola) the price of oil went down as low as US$6 a barrel! I remember this quite clearly as there was bugger all work in the North sea at that time because it just wasn't economically viable to do any exploration or development.

Eventually Opec managed to slow down production and put enough pressure on the 'new' oil states (Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Angola etc.) to bring the oil price back up to it's standard (at the time) of around US$20-25. Since then the rapid industrialization of China and instability in the middle east has seen it SOAR to it's present price of around US$80. Now depending from when you want to take your reference point, that's either a 300% rise or a whopping 1200%!

If the majority of car owners at the time knew how much they were being ripped off back in 1997-1998 there would have been hell to pay!
 
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