UP TO 750,000 drivers in NSW will be forced to pay at least $150 more for petrol each year when the government bans regular unleaded petrol in July.

NSW is the only government in Australia to ban regular unleaded petrol and replace it with fuel blended with 10 per cent ethanol.

But modelling by the University of Queensland and the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce obtained by the Herald shows 25 per cent of NSW cars cannot use ethanol fuel and will be forced to use premium fuel instead.

E10 is also far less fuel efficient than regular unleaded, pretty much negating any initial cost savings at the petrol station. I won’t use it my vehicle, makesmy car run rough even though it is E10 certified.

HOLDEN’S Australian operations hang in the balance as Ford today announced a $103 million investment to keep its Victorian plants open for another four years.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill and federal Manufacturing Minister Kim Carr met with General Motors chief executive Dan Akerson in Detroit this morning for talks on the future of its Australian subsidiary, Holden.

The Ford investment, made in Geelong today, includes $34 million of taxpayers’ money, to boost the fuel efficiency of the Ford Falcon and Ford Territory models.

Mr Weatherill said the closure of the GM’s Australian operations was “one possible scenario”.

He said the SA and federal governments were negotiating a deal to prevent that occurring.

If the ALP really wanted to save the car industry in Australia then they might consider implementing my five point plan detailed here. Let me update it and call it my ten point plan:

1. Abolish government transaction taxes on new Australian made cars sold to private buyers, including stamp duty and registration;
2. Abolish payroll tax for the entire car manufacturing sector;
3. Reduce the corporate income tax rate to 5 per cent for the entire car manufacturing sector;
4. Provide funding for an automobile R&D centre of excellence made up of local industry, local universities and the CSIRO, to focus on the engineering challenges of meeting EU environmental standards and other government regulations;
5. Provide tax-credits for new automobile manufacturing investment;
6. Relax current IR laws, including unfair dismissal and collective bargaining and implement ‘employer at will’ AWA arrangements;
7. Abolish any government scheme, alternative energy requirement or subsidy that drives up the cost of power;
8. Abolish the Co2 tax;
9. Allow the owners of Australian cars – no older than 4 year old – to travel 130 km/h on some dual freeways; and
10. Relax immigration restrictions for persons that have expertise and investment dollars for the automobile R&D and manufacturing sector.

If the SA and VIC governments really want automobile manufacturing in their states there is nothing stopping them from abolishing payroll and transaction taxes on Ford and Holden tomorrow. The problem with Ford and Holden is symbolic of the wider problem with manufacturing in Australia though: governments, through a myriad of taxes and regulations, is making the sector uncompetitive in world and domestic markets. That is about 75 per cent of the problem.

NSW drivers could face more petrol price rises this year after the government bans regular unleaded fuel, pushing up demand for ethanol-blended and premium unleaded fuel, the industry has warned…..The ACCC found ethanol was increasing in price relative to regular unleaded petrol. Last year ethanol was 2.6¢ a litre cheaper; this year the difference fell to 1.7¢. Some motorists argue ethanol is already functionally more expensive because it provides less mileage than regular petrol. The NRMA says ethanol-fuel is between 1 and 3½ per cent less fuel efficient.

…and not every car can safely run on ethanol. Seems like another sweet heart deal to a vested industry and lobby group. Thanks Barry…..

There are concerns new planning guidelines for wind farms in New South Wales will kill off the industry.

Using the word ‘industry’ very loosely. It gets better:

…draft planning guidelines which give landowners the right to veto wind farms proposed within two kilometres of their homes… noise levels from new wind farms will be more strict, with a limit of 35 decibels…

How sweet it is.

The Government is currently considering 17 wind farm applications. Mr Hazzard believes 13 that have not yet gone to public exhibition will be covered by the guidelines once they are finalised.

Similar laws have been introduced into Victoria. The Greens of course are angry that their Big Green industry pals won’t be able to cash-in on higher energy prices and violating other people’s private property rights. The Greens really are a collection of totalitarian fascists.

THE anti-wind farm movement that is gaining influence in the NSW Parliament is being ”aided and abetted” by climate sceptic groups and some mining figures.

So apparently it is okay for Big Green Spanish and Indian multi-national corporations to capture public policy making, but anyone else is in league with mining and therefore bad. The anti-wind farm movement is gaining traction because they are being aided and abetted by the reality of high wind farm prices and unreliability of service. There is also the considerable impact on the landscape.

The Premier, Barry O’Farrell, said in August it was his opinion that no new wind farms should be built in NSW, but it is understood there are divisions in cabinet about the issue.

The Nationals MP and Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, said yesterday his anti-wind farm views were well known and he hoped yesterday’s cabinet meeting ”addresses the sins of the past”.

Follow Abbott’s lead – just say no.

Complaints about a lack of infrastructure are greatly over stated. I had 3G coverage virtually everywhere I drove and roads are in better condition than in the city. A dual carriage way linking Wagga to the Hume Highway would be nice. The raising of the speed limit along a number of country highways to 110 km/h by Barry O’Farrell is welcome and seems to be the natural speed limit anyway.

Of course there may be draw backs to living in the country, like not having ready access to the full gamut of medical services provided by city hospitals. However, the cost of living should be much cheaper because the cost of housing should be much cheaper. Housing is typically the number 1 household expense. There are pros and cons to country living like there is to city living.

I also saw no evidence of coal seam gas anywhere along my travels. I can’t see any reason why Australia can’t have both energy and food security that respects private property rights, equitable water access and considers the natural environment. Helping towns diversify employment and industry into coal seam gas while also preserving the existing agriculture sector can only benefit rural NSW. It is not a zero sum game; the environmental consequences of of fracking  are often overstated. Sure more oversight is probably needed to stop resource corporations trampling over people, while getting sweet heart deals from governments. To turn your back on the entire industry as Alan Jones seems to be advocating is just nuts.

Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says the study demonstrates the Government’s additional support for hospitals.

“The demands of the community and the ageing population will mean that health expenditure goes up, but we need to make sure that that’s sustainable,” she said.

When capital expenditure is added in from the government, the cost of public hospitals reaches around $40 billion per year. When Gillard’s health deal comes on line then the figure will balloon even greater, despite more people leaving the system for private coverage.

I have previously argued that the more money government keeps giving public hospitals, the less competitive they become relative to private hospitals, and the stronger the argument is to get rid of the public hospital system and replace it with a network of private hospitals backed up with government and privately purchased and private hospital insurance cover. The privatisation of the public hospital system would free up billions of dollars in assets that could be converted into a sovereign wealth fund to purchase private hospital insurance for those without, while providing a massive tax cut  – GST and income – for those with the financial means to look after themselves. That would make for a sustainable medical system.

Let’s run the numbers. There are around 12 million people in the public hospital system, which works out to be around $13,000 for a family of four people. You cannot buy a $13,000 private hospital insurance policy for a family of four people. The top of the line Medibank Private no deductible private hospital policy for a family of four is around $2,600 per year. Even without the 30 per cent Federal government rebate you are only looking at around $3,400, well short of the whopping $13,000 for the public system. We have reached the point where the cost of providing more money to the public hospital system is outweighed by the benefits of adopting a private hospital model, backed by government purchased private hospital insurance for those on the safety net.

1. Roads are second rate. This may be a function of a lack of people, but when one has to drive hundreds of kms on dirt roads being used by local businesses to sell products and provide services there is something wrong. Think of the additional fuel and maintenance costs, not too mention lost time in transit. There is also an issue of safety. I know 4WD enthusiasts lap it up, but in the year 2011 arterial roads like the Gibb Road need to be paved and made for the most part flood proof. Even the national highway funded by the Federal government is worse than state highways. Single lane bridges, lack of road shoulders and clearing to keep wondering animals away from the side of the road. There are still flood ways in place probably because the Feds are too cheap to build flood proof bridges. Try playing chicken with a road train on a single lane bridge on a bend. That’s what it is like. Thankfully the speed limit is 11o kph, but I never saw any Police so I gather anything goes within reason.
2. Telecommunications are second rate but could be made so much better quickly. Unless you are with Telstra then forget it with a mobile. Go outside town and you get no mobile coverage, sat phone is your only option. Telstra though have a network of microwave towers built back in the 1980s and 90s. One wouldn’t think it be too hard to put m0bile tech. on them to extend coverage. Not really a critical issue though. Simply the function of long distances and not many people.
3. There is no lack of water in the north. Lake Argyle is not small body of water so the Coalition’s recent proposal to build dams in the north may have merit, if geography permits and local councils release land to allow businesses to attract people to work. Unlike in the south, the north has great rivers like the Missouri, Colorado and Mississippi rivers. Large parts of the north-west remind me of Arizona, Utah, Nevada and California. Plenty of people live in those states, the north-west could be no different. The Kimberley seems to the geography to support well over 1 million people – land, water, natural attractions, good variable weather and close to Asia. As long as the land is private and without restrictions and not Crown or aboriginal communal land governed by a complex set of regulations, then that should attract people to the region. Unfortunately I don’t think that is the case.

Back to city life for me.

More evidence has come to light just today. Thomson’s hotel room phone was allegedly used on three occasions to call for prostitution services, all paid for by the Health Services Union.

There is nothing operationally or legally stopping the NSW Police from investigating the matter to determine if charges can be laid against Craig Thomson. A complaint has already been lodged by a HSU member to the NSW Police. The head of the AFP also confirmed to Senator George Brandis SC, that the issue is not within Federal Police jurisdiction but with the NSW Police.

I understand that NSW Police have until recently been governed by an ALP government for 16 years, and they are probably still getting used to a Coalition government calling the shots. The NSW Police need though to put aside any political preference or consideration and do what they are paid to do: enforce the law without fear or favour. Failure to investigate this matter sends the wrong signal to the public: that the left-wing political class are above the law and can expect to receive special dispensation from law enforcement authorities when conduct and integrity before the law are brought into doubt.

NSW Police – get on with it!

UPDATE

Seems like the whole union is in need of an investigation, this time from a former state secretary:

Mr Jackson is understood to have settled with the union over wage increases which he allegedly issued himself without authorisation.

He maintained the increases were legitimate but was said to have not wanted to fight the matter in court. Mr Jackson was also accused in 2009 of credit card payments to the agency but strenuously denied the allegations.

Where there is smoke there is fire. Seems like the ATO might also get involved.

UPDATE II

Speak of the devil, from the SMH today:

Senator Brandis, who is leading the Coalition pursuit of Mr Thomson, said it was time for the police to become involved.

”If Thomson’s story is true and his signature was forged, a crime has been committed against him,” Senator Brandis said.

”If it’s not true, a crime has been committed by him. Either way, a crime has been committed. It’s now high time for the NSW police to commence an investigation.”

The Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, concurred, saying ”on the face of it, there is a lot that needs to be fully investigated by official bodies”.

The longer the NSW Police delay investigating this matter, the more their impartiality is going to be called into question.

UPDATE III

So much for the AEC’s inquiry that cleared Thomson of any wrong doing:

Labor MP Craig Thomson is facing explosive allegations he breached electoral laws after spending nearly $40,000 on his 2007 election campaign using his union credit card.

For goodness sake, how much evidence do the Police need before they will act? It also speaks volumes of the AEC’s partisan stance towards Thomson. You’d figure as part of their ‘investigation’ that they might have checked out Thomson’s credit card statements – apparently not.

UPDATE IV

The NSW Police are claiming that they need a request from the HSU to investigate the alleged use of union funds by Craig Thomson for personal benefit and his alleged false swearing of an affidavit against Fairfax.

NEW South Wales Police are refusing to investigate Craig Thomson’s credit card unless the Health Services Union makes a complaint.

Very strange indeed. So according to NSW Police Inspector Brian Hallett if a union boss commits an act of fraud, as a HSU member submitted to the NSW Police three weeks ago, then unless someone in the actual employment of the HSU makes a complaint they won’t do anything. The NSW Police need to tread very carefully here. There is no basis for not investigating the matter according to Senator George Brandis SC. It would be like the NSW Police refusing to investigate the mafia, because no one from the mafia had made a complaint to the Police about the mafia. It is about as implausible as Craig Thomson’s claims to innocence.

We also learn today that there is a black list of vendors for corporate credit cards, including brothels, and that it is likely the issuing bank would have called accounts payable to red flag any inappropriate transactions. If this is true, then Thomson’s own admission of approving the transaction on the basis that he did not know what it was for is rendered even more incredible.

Ray Hadley has also revelaed today that Thomson is facing court action for non-payment of bills relating to the use of a bus during the last election.

UPDATE V

NSW Police are giving us a yeah but no but routine:

NSW police say they will investigate allegations that federal Labor MP Craig Thomson misused his union credit card.

In a “clarification” statement this afternoon, police said: “Police are currently assessing information provided by Shadow Federal Attorney-General George Brandis to determine whether there are grounds that warrant an investigation.

“The NSW Police Force is not in a position to make any further comment.”

UPDATE VI

The HSU have lodged with the NSW Police. The Police have no excuses now. Listening to Michael Smith’s interview with the new HSU boss Kathy Jackson, it is pretty clear that the she does not want the HSU to go down with Craig Thomson and the Federal ALP. The HSU must be bleeding members right now.

This is the up-shot. If Thomson is charged and found guilty he will have to leave the HoR. The likely charges carry the Constitution’s required minimum 1 year jail term – in practice practice any jail term would probably see the government fall because Abbott would not offer Thomson a pairing arrangement if he had to serve a sentence – and a by-election would be required as soon as a guilty verdict is given. There is no waiting for the sentence hearing and any appeals. A by-election would have to happen on any guilty verdict.

UPDATE VII

The NSW Police may have some questions to answer as well:

Crimes have been committed that can bring down the Gillard government, and they are dumb crimes. As a former NSW chief of detectives told me: ”We are ultimately dealing with the crimes of a fool, whomever that fool may be, who has left a documented trail like a bleeding elephant in a snowfield.”

This trail of evidence of fraud, lying and cover-up now roils around the federal Labor MP Craig Thomson. It has also engulfed the NSW Police Force, which implausibly refused to act until a victim had filed a complaint.

”Utter garbage,” said the former detective. ”Police do not need to have a complaint from a victim in order to investigate a crime.’

Almost two weeks ago, the Government announced the tariff paid to customers under the previous government’s scheme would be cut from 60 cents per kilowatt hour to 40 cents in an effort to rein in the scheme’s costs.

The Government is trying to make up the shortfall for the Solar Bonus Scheme which has blown out by $750 million.

Today NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell bowed to pressure and announced assistance will be offered to anyone who suffers hardship as a consequence of the tariff changes.

But the compensation assurance has not appeased the solar industry or the Opposition, who say the Government is compounding bad policy.

As the saying goes, a government that can give you everything you want is a government that can take away everything you have.

Consumers can’t have it both ways. Either you lower the cost of electricity by getting rid of these uneconomic and expensive subsides for people’s solar power hobby, or you continue to provide funding and drive electricity prices even higher. Why anyone that can afford to spend thousands on panels would need a hardship allowance is beyond me. I also have no sympathy for the suppliers, either. You get in bed with Big Government, you should also bear the risks. Don’t come looking for more money to fund your bad business decision.

In an ideal world, personal solar panels would have to compete in a free market for customers, not have their pricing protected by the government. The whole scheme still amounts to a racket: a scheme that only serves the interests of the solar industry and those wealthy enough to be able to buy the panels and have the roof space to install them.