Liberal backbencher Chris Pearce (Aston Victoria) would like to see a 10c per litre reduction in fuel excise. This cut would cost the government $3.6 billion each year in lost revenue. Is it enough?

Everyone seems to agree that a five-cent-per-litre reduction in the fuel excise on petrol is not a significant amount. However, this five cent reduction would cost the country billions of dollars each year. We all want to reduce our fuel bill (and our grocery bill) as well as reduce carbon emission and pollution, but how can this be achieved both in the short term and over the next 10, 20 and 50 years? I believe the problem we are all facing is not the price of petrol, but the limit of alternatives.

There is just one hybrid car on the market in Australia and while sales of hybrid cars are increasing rapidly, they still don’t represent a significant portion of total car sales. In order to increase sales of hybrids, and other fuel efficient vehicles, subsidies would be required to help reduce their cost. Subsidies to the car manufacturing industry would also be required to speed their implementation in a range of vehicles.

In regional areas of Australia, and even in parts of the city, public transport is expensive, inconvenient or not available. Very few people use public transport in Toowoomba and cyclists take their life in their hands whenever they ride about the city. There are few dedicated cycling lanes, and numerous semi-trailers on our roads are also a concern for cyclists in Toowoomba.

Speaking of semi-trailers, a shift away from semi-trailers would also be needed to reduce our reliance on petrol and reduce carbon emissions. A shift to rail for bulk haulage would be beneficial.

Hybrid cars, public transport, cycling and increased rail freight, would all reduce our demand for petrol, but they will take years to be implemented and many more years to have a significant impact. Car manufacturers are beginning to build hybrid vehicles, but these will take years to be manufactured and brought to market. Even if every new car sold in Australia was a hybrid, it would take around eight years for them to filter through and replace the older cars people would continue to drive. Money could be spent on better public transport and cycle lanes, however it would take longer for our ‘car loving culture’ to adapt. Also, our railways are already reaching capacity because of the mining boom and therefore new lines would have to be built to carry the extra load.

The next problem is that our economy is already reaching capacity. We simply cannot spend billions of dollars on infrastructure because there aren’t the workers to build these projects at the moment.

To make a summarising statement, we are in a pickle.

In my opinion, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd needs to fulfil an election promise (at least in my eyes) of being a leader with a vision, a leader for the long-term and a leader who wants to make the tough decisions about the environment, health and education.

The worldwide demand for oil is rising dramatically and we all know that it will continue to increase over the long-term. In a few years, a Carbon Trading Scheme will be introduced in Australia and the cost of fuel will increase further. This is a necessary step to reduce our carbon emissions and limit the effects of global warming, but it will hurt.

Reducing the price of petrol is not a solution; it costs a lot of money for a little relief, and does not benefit the environment. The only option is to reduce our demand for oil.

Get onto it Kevin!

What do you think about the price of fuel? Would ten cents a litre help your family budget? Is this a short-term tactic, when we need a long-term strategy? Please, add a comment below.

The opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of ourToowoomba.com.