Why does Australia pay so much for fuel when Venezuela fuel price is only 2c per litre?
Fuel price comparison;
http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-BL080_VENGAS_G_…
Why does Australia pay so much for fuel when Venezuela's fuel price is only 2c per litre?
Comments
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Because we are taxed on fuel while over there it's probably subsidized.
you know venezuela like most oil producing countries are completely shit in other areas?
you know australia has a 38c a litre tax?
you know australia is tied to the singapore index which means we compete with all the asian countries for oil who all have greater demand and a greater capacity to pay then we do?
your ability to make a good life for yourself in australia is better than the oil producing states unless you're an elite
And it would have been a lot more if the indexation of the tax wasn't frozen in 2001. No doubt that will be the next thing to go. In the UK the petrol price is almost 60% duty and VAT.
problem is our economic activity is tied to the low cost of fuel
if they suddenly allowed fuel costs to rise you can imagine the negative political backlash and the flow on effects of consumption
everything you buy is sent to supermarkets in trucks
transport costs go up, so does your food
australia is on the edge at $1.50 a litre… imagine a world at $2.00 a litre or worse
then motorbike sales will surge.
shh don't tell them that!
Or Pedal bike(Bicycle ) sales
… more like $2.00 from what I'm seeing less than 200km south of Sydney.
You really DO NOT want to look at forecast prices by 2020 or heaven forbid 2050. Let's just say our children will probably not even bother buying a car unless it's shared in the community kind of like original telephones.
"australia is on the edge at $1.50 a litre… imagine a world at $2.00 a litre or worse"
bah…absolute rubbish.
i've been hearing all that "imagine if … since the 1970'syou know as well as i that they could subsidize all of it.
we are getting jacked here by corporate monopolies and we're complying by paying for it and doing nothing about it.gee save 8cents a litre when you shop at woolworths.
woopity-do~!
don't insult our intelligence… giving us "rewards".
the whole system is for retarded sheep and lemmings.we continue to comply and continue to get jacked!
and that's the story. this country is owned!and while your at it, you can return back all our utilities (electricity, water, gas and telephone)to the commonwealth of australia.
I remember how it ignites all the discussions at work places when it hit $2 a Gallon (5 litres) in US which was not long ago.
to say we are tied to the singapore index is a oversimplification;
oil pricing is a global market- higher costs are incurred by shipping, quality, access, exchange rates, infrastructure, etc.
This is the same reason the US cares about Middle-eastern oil, not that they use any…. only because it affects the price they pay for it in Canada.
You don't understand supply and demand do you? Who would sell it cheaper to us when other customers (in other countries) will pay a better price? And the government is only involved in taxing it, not purchasing it, that's done by the fuel companies.
Yeah, we should have thought of that. Stupid government buying all our petrol at the Singapore BP when the they could of got 20c a litre off at Woolies if they just kept their dockets.
Luckily, Tony Abbott has an EveryDay Rewards card so we won't have to pay more after next month.So seriously, do you really think:
a) the government tells Caltex/BP/Shell etc where to buy their fuel?
b) they would tell them to buy it anywhere but the cheapest?It so happens the Singapore price (TAPIS crude is the benchmark) is higher than the North American (West Texas Intermdiate) or the EU benchmark (Brent).
This is because the mix of desirable components in the TAPIS blend is a bit more favourable than WTI or Brent, making it cheaper to refine and give a better yield. So in the same way you pay more at the pump for premium, TAPIS costs a little more.
The other reason it is a bit dearer is because it is delivered to Singapore, which is a lot easier to ship to Australia than from Cushing Oklahoma or the UK.
The third factor is competition form other Asian nations. They too, wish to avoid shipping costs from the US or UK or middle east, so will pay a little more for 'local' crude.
delete
Since when are we Asian?
Our little corner of the globe is known as Oceania.
On that page you may also notice the term Australasia.This is reality. If you want to feel more "European", move to Europe.
I'd be happy to be considered Asian in the Asian Century and I'm of European descent.
Don't forget we're part of the AFC now.
When we don't have oil in our own land, I wouldn't be worried much about the oil prices going up when the sellers increase it. However I am really worried to see the already available resources in this country is controlled and enjoyed by foreign states and no one gives a shit about that.
In typical world if any country has already blessed with lots of invaluable natural resources they would manage it them selves and take the benefit them selves rather than give it away for foreigners to control it. If the government can earn enough from our own Iron ore and coal mines and use that money to build the infrastructure to build the economy of this country rather than letting handful of foreign arms and couple of companies to enjoy all the natural wealth of the country, Gov doesn't have to put heavy tax on everything and every single penny you earn by working hard.
What happens now is that Gov has to save for decades from our tax money to build a road or a rail link. Sometimes they never get built because the hefty tax we pay is not enough. Understand, it all goes from the people who work hard. Top and lowest layer never get affected.
In some oil rich countries they don't have any payee tax as they use the income from their natural resources to build their infrastructure. What we should understand is that, same as oil the resources we have are diminishing as well. So how come Iron ore or coal can not bring the same prosperity that oil can bring for some countries.
This country is having better living than middle east because of proper system and freedom of living and acting. It has nothing to do with tax system.
They will never remove the tax on petrol, its a large source of funding for the government.
Correct. and thats correct for almost every country and not only Australia.
Take a look at a few of the countries who subsidise fuel:
- Egypt
- India
- Pakistan
- Indonesia
- Saudi Arabia
The general public gets used to cheap fuel, and when the price goes up and the government can't afford the subsidy anymore? Well, take a longer look at Egypt…
no offense to people who come from there but who wants to live in those 3rd world places
if you're offended why are you here?
often you hear of australians looking to other places overseas and thinking how awesome it is to have 2c petrol or $1 for a carton of cigarettes or $3 for a bottle of scotch and sure… these places are nice to visit but you wouldnt wanna live there
australia like all western nations has incredibly high living costs
if you want to pay 2c for petrol chances are the avg. person there cant afford a car, nor education, nor do they get 3 square meals a day and you can bet there's some awesome persecution of the government or religious kind…
i'd rather drive a V8 here with $1.50 petrol than live in a country with 2c petrol where i'm on the streets begging for a feed
of course its different if you're the 1% in those countries and have everything you want but its different for the 1% here too
so you're saying they should increase the cost of mcdonald's so we don't become fat?
Maybe they'll increase the cost of bread so you don't eat so much?
i'm not asking for the fuel to be 2c, i'd rather it at a reasonable rate without having to be surprised everytime I fill up.
Last year, I paid $5,200 on fuel and I've only got a 2dr 1.8L vehicle. How much did you pay?
Yes Subsidised but still unaffordable to most of the population.
So get used to it and you won't be surprised.
i dont care how much I pay, i have money
the govt. seeks to control behaviour by pricing
why does a bottle of scotch cost $30+ yet the same bottle cost me $5 somewhere in Asia?
the govt. doesnt want you to drink
the govt. doesnt want you to smoke
the govt. doesnt want you to drive
in the future i can see the govt. trying to tax junk food to control diet
for me, life is too short, i enjoy driving so my main car is a V8
instead of ranting about why things shouldnt be like some 3rd world shithole, you should try to understand why the australian govt. does what it does to control your behaviour
thats your problem
i used to pay $75 to get public transport to get to work
i pay less than that now on fuel and i have plenty left over for the weekend
the govt. would like you to take public transport to work or a short drive
if you need to drive heaps, that's your problem
my motorcycle is far cheaper to run than my car. i don't know where you get your facts from.
My car costs me roughly $50-60 a week on fuel, around $75 on public transport. Government needs to subsidize public transport if they want it to be a viable alternative.
One word, myki Lol. I was heavily surprised by then cost of public transport last time I visited. In SA, one way trips on public transport would be about $1.20 one way which would be Like $17 a fortnight but I guess Melbourne does does have a population 4x the size.
$1300 with a 1.6 diesel running around 330km per week.
"Government needs to subsidize public transport if they want it to be a viable alternative."
They already do. I had talked to someone from IPART (NSW) and they told me that fares only cover around 1/3 of the cost to run public transport. This is also why private operators are unwilling to buy the transit system, at least in its current state.
I think there would have to be a huge reorganisation/alternate funding schemes put in place if they are to bring the costs down. Subsidisation is probably not the answer.
You are not including maintenance costs etc…
Motorcycles are super cheap. $20 to fill the tank and 300 km per tank for a 750 cc.
I just don't like the way government feels it's OK to tax drinking, smoking or petrol because they can say how "bad" they are. Then when it comes to things that actually make a difference in peoples lives i.e. fast food (diabetes) and funding for alzheimers (the two largest forecast expenses for generation Y) they look the other way.
Not only will gen Y be paying for all that but we also get the privilege of having our wages cut with superannuation which is basically the government telling us we are too stupid to manage our own finance and then giving us options to pick from which we can't later change (don't tell me cost doesn't get passed on). Also while paying for pensions of others (not to mention they outnumber us). Rant finished FAIL government.
You're as dumb as most of Abbott's voters. Stop reading Murdoch trash and get your news from various sources.
Wait…arcticmonkey and all who replied didn't assume his comment was sarcasm?
From a completely different perspective.
"Why does 'insert European country' pay so much for fuel (€1.50 = $2.20) when Australian fuel price is only 150c per litre?"its expensive to an australian buying UK petrol with australian dollars
its avg. for someome in the UK earning an avg. wage (source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20442666)
saying that petrol is still expensive in the EU because owning a car isnt as easy as it is here… they have smaller cars, they have high registration and such and their agenda is not of public car ownership
Australia, let's be honest here, is around about where Canada is as far as living costs go… it will never be as cheap as the US but we pay about the same or worse than most white western nations
$1.50 petrol is relatively cheap in the scheme of things
if we're only beaten by the Americans and stuff, we're doing well
forget about the Opec and most Asian countries because its not comparable
petrol in China and Japan and Hong Kong and Malaysia and the better Asian countries isnt cheap either
what I'm saying is that we're paying an ok price for petrol… if Australia wanted to be closer to what the real cost is including realistic taxes and the true cost of running a car on the roads, i'd say $1.75 to $2.00 is closer to what it realitisically should cost
sure, i'm selfish, i want a return to $1.25 or less or even a $1.00 but you know thats not likely
Err, I agree… re-read my original comment.
Europeans pay heaps more than we do.
If you convert that as well, they earn more or less the same on average in comparison… in perspective, that makes their fuel prices more expensive
I worked both in Sydney and in India(currently in India) what i get in India is almost 1/6th of what i was getting in Sydney but the petrol price is ~ $1.36/L in India… I used to walk to office in Syd(5 mins from home :) ) now i am traveling ~60(30+30) KM per day just to travel to and from office.
because hardly anyone pays taxes and that is the only source of funding for their government?
you must be kidding
you heard of VAT?
the EU is more heavily taxed than we are
Yes, and I'm sure people actually pay it LOL!
VAT = 17.5%
its their gst
how do you avoid paying it?
VAT = 20%
Only the actual established companies make you pay, all of the other small companies do not charge.
read:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Value_Added_Tax_(United_Kingdom)
if you dont like it here, leave
there's a heaps of countries that will accept you
nothing will change, not even after september
Haha if you don't like it here, leave, because that's the only option isn't it? It's the worst defense that can be used by someone to defend the status quo, it lets them excuse any sorry state of affairs regardless of how bad it's become.
One of these days, the same words will be turned against you and I wonder if you'll be so keen to heed your own advice.
If you don't like it, change it, subvert it, mitigate it. Noone has to leave for your pleasure.
Hardly. You can investigate these aspects for yourself you know instead of indulging in fanciful theories, you have the Internet at your disposal. Here's the pie chart for the UK, and would be similar for other developed countries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:UK_taxes.svg
Fuel is only 5% of the take. Income tax is the major revenue source.
Quit complaining, here in Japan it's permanently 147 yen (Northwards of $1.68) .
Our oil price is tied to the Singapore Price of crude oil.
Dont ask me ask alan kohler… he knows
The price is heavily subsidised by the Venezuelan government. That country is a net oil exporter but the essentially free fuel still places an enormous burden on the government. Instead of exporting that fuel for a dollar a litre they're selling it for 2c locally, losing close to 100% of the value.
Then there's the environmental impact of having a fuel that no one cares how much they burn or how they burn it. It's so cheap! Why would anyone care? Lastly, there's the sheer insanity of recklessly, almost without cost consuming a valuable non renewable resource. I'm sure Venezuelans in 50 years time will thank the current generation for burning through the country's oil reserves so wisely with nothing to show for it in terms of national income.
they should export that oil for fair market price and put that money into social services
but hey, this is the world we live in, its imperfect, screws fall out
Yeah, compare with Norway, where they invest resource rents for the future.
The same reason cocaine is $5 per gram in Colombia vs. $195 per gram here.
According to the UN.
haha u on drugs mang
is this a serious question?
Venezuela produces oil and australia imports it,
Shouldn't make much of a difference, let them sell it to us for 20c, still beats paying $1.70 a litre.
Please by all means set up a company and try to buy from Venezuela at 20c/litre if you can and make a motza undercutting the others. Good luck with that. :P
Venezuela may be stupid to waste money subsidising petrol for their citizens but they are not stupid to not charge market price for foreign buyers.
My plan:
I have a hipster Indian mate who could pass for Venezuelan. We get him to Venezuela and he fills up a speedboat for 2 c/L. Then he drives the speedboat to the off-shore mothership and transfers the fuel in. Rinse and repeat a few times then we drive the mothership back to Australia and sell the fuel for 100 c/L.
It's a win-win!
If you're interested in contributing manpower, expert knowledge or capital, PM me to get on-board with this exciting investment opportunity.
:)
My contribution, here are some useful Spanish phrases:
Where is the petrol station? Donde esta la policia?
Do you take credit cards.? Aceptan Flybuys?
I'm Venezuelan, trust me. Soy estupido, de verdad.¬_¬
and Google translation says,
Where is the petrol station? Where is the police?
Do you take credit cards.? Flybuys accept?
I'm Venezuelan, trust me. I'm stupid, really.:)
Mate go get a degree in economics to find out how you sell things and make money.
Russia is oil producing country, has many problems with roads and traffic jams and has fuel price $1 per litre.
Europe has fuel prices > 1.5 Euro
Nothing to complain here, enjoy good and safe roads and pay a fair price for petrol.
Safe roads? When was the last time you got in a car?
'safe' compared to the 3rd world shitholes where petrol is 2c
I get in the car all the time. Hell I even jump on my motorcycle and I am yet to die and when i do have close calls it's not due to the road it's due to someone driving like a dickhead. We're a huge country with a small population and I think we do pretty well.
Yes but what does fuel tax have to do with road condition, isn't that what your council/rta fees pay for?
Maybe residentially but fuel tax goes to the federal government who tend to spend a lot of money on highways. The pacific highway has been undergoing major upgrades for years and it's a pretty amazing piece of infrastructure. You could say fuel tax has paid for that.
same here, except replace motorcycle with bicycle.
We don't compare too badly to similar countries.
http://www.aip.com.au/pricing/internationalprices.htmI found Australian Petrol price is quite competitive compares to many country i have been
Italia > 1.8 euro
Germany > 1.6 euro
France > 1.6 euro
Switzerland > 1.8 Franc
Singapore > 2.1 SGD
Indonesia (equal 91 ron) = 10200 IDR (1.1 AUD) - Subsidised (88 RON)
Japan > 150 Yen
Malaysia > 2.7 Ringgit
US > 95 US cent + All the cost of war in Iraq and other oil producing countryAustralia as of today > 1.45 AUD
As a matter of fact, apart of housing price and Electricity bill i found most daily stuff i use has been around the same price for the past 5 - 8 years
Cost of Timtam — $2
Cost of Chips - $2
Cost of KFC meal $8Cost of Many Items in Ozbargain — Free (did not happen 8 years back)
You can go to venezuela pay 2c for your fuel and then pay $2 for 1 toilet paper roll (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/venezuela-toilet-pa…)
or stay in australia and pay 1.5 AUD for 1 litre of fuel and 50c for 1 toilet paper roll (same price since 8 years back)As a matter of fact, the bottle water cost more than petrol. My only sore point with australia is the Government inability to control the House Price. They seems to think House price increase is a great thing to economy where every price slump is lambasted with all free money for first home grant, investment channel, visa laxation etc to prop up the house price. the end result is that with our wage we still complain about 1.5 AUD petrol per litre.
Should we not have to pay 50% of our family income to get a small house in the middle of no where and another 30% for Electricity and Insurance bill we will be the happy little Vegemite of the world.
you make such an excellent point, people complaining about the price of petrol or groceries (which are quite reasonable, all things being equal to other countries)can't see the forest for the trees, with the price of housing in Australia being 6-8 times yearly earnings, whereas in the UK or US, the cost was maybe 4 times the average earnings even before the GFC.
Cost of Timtam — $2
Cost of Chips - $2
Cost of KFC meal $8Is this dinner and dessert listed in reverse order? :p
… the Government inability to control the House Price. They seems to think House price increase is a great thing to economy…
Easy — negative gearing reform. Political suicide, but it may slowly reverse the notion that residential property is a fast road to easy wealth. Investor activity decreases and first home buyers have a better chance.
Table 15 in this link shows Australia's placement with respect to other (mostly OECD) countries around the world.
At $1.69 a litre (which I think overestimates it right now - but was probably more accurate when the report was published, when the AUD was above parity with the USD), we're somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Cheaper than some European countries, more expensive than certain Asian countries and USA/Mexico.
I'm thinking about hiring a few mules to smuggle in 10,000 litres of pure high grade distillate fuel on a yacht from Venezuela, who's in?
Dont count me in because i do not know how to convert high grade distillate in petrol neither i have refinery to convert petrol from distillate..
even if you could supply your own fuel you're obliged to pay the govt. 38c for every litre just like as if you're paying at the bowser
the world isnt equal
you can live in a shell and not even google what it is like to live in other parts of the world or at least try to understand why it is how it is here and in other places
It is of course illegal to transport subsidised fuel out of Venezuela. The country would be sucked dry within a day.
The problem here is the classic situation where governments intervene to create distortions in marketplaces.
Other examples that come to mind:
Thai government paying twice the world price for rice. Result? Massive stockpiles of rotting rice and smuggling from neighbouring countries.
Fuel taxes are lower in Kaliningrad vs Poland, so Poles drive across the border to refuel. Lately quotas have been set and people detained at the border for bringing across too much fuel.
Even Australia had an example. Fuel tax was slightly lower in QLD vs NSW, so NSW residents from towns neighbouring the border would drive across the border to refuel.
It's an expensive way to buy votes. People think they're getting a cheaper product, but who pays the government? The tax payers.
what do you think is a fair price to pay for a litre of petrol
think about it
it has to be drilled out of some sandy Middle Eastern hole by a Western company like shell… that means you have to pay a crew of men, a rig, security, kick back dirty money to the prevailing govt. then ship it over the seas where its refined at another place with industrial chemists in a multi-million dollar facility then its shipped to your local depot then sent to your local servo
the govt. takes their 38c
then the servo takes their 2c
so you see with that complex process, do you think 2c in venezuela is a real price?
petrol also causes air pollution and global warming, things that arent costed
some people dont see the real cost and all they want is their $1.00 petrol as if thats all that matters
Does Venezuela have a healthcare system, education, superannuation, the dole, dole bludgers, ferals, the Paxtons, hot spanish babes….?
At least one of the above is true
Jesus the Paxtons!
Thanks for the flashback. I'll be watching the Front Line piss-take of that tonight.
Ask Alex Jones why…. :)
$1.65 in Darwin today…n happy to do so cause I am living in Aus!
Dont take it for granted, you dont realise how many people want to be here.
Do you want 2c per litre fuel or toilet paper, milk and sugar? Venezuela Toilet Paper Shortage: Government To Import 50 Million Rolls
people seem to forget that AUS produces 80% of the crude oil used by AUS
?????????????????????????
Not sure about crude, but for refined unleaded "To meet Australian fuel demand, around 15-20% of petrol is imported (mainly from Singapore). Singapore is the regional refining and distribution centre and among the world’s largest."
Source: http://www.aip.com.au/pricing/facts/Facts_about_Petrol_Price…
yes but if a company pulls oil out from australia, why would you sell it cheap to australians when you can get more from the asians
even if it is australian made you have to charge what the competition will pay
put another way, are Aussie cars cheaper than the competition just because they're Australian?
companies are here to make a profit
the government can nationalise it i guess.. like venezuela
Which is why the government should own all natural resources…instead of giving it away and then buying it back at an exorbitant price…its just pure short term thinking.
Means they have to pull funding meaning less on other stuff, education, healthcare or tax us more.
as a western nation, australia doesnt suddenly take on practices of socialist dictatorships just because its citizens need cheap oil…
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Venezuela is a net oil producer. The low price is subsidised by the state.