Foolosophy wrote on Apr 14^th, 2011 at 9:45pm:


It's extortion. We give them money and they sell us a few jobs whilst any profits disappear overseas. Then to add insult to injury they refused to make what we want and that is a car that doesn't chain us to the rising cost of fossil fools

Sir lastnail wrote on Apr 14^th, 2011 at 11:35pm:


lol

It gets worse - much worse

During the recent Global Financial Crisis GMH was in so much trouble that globally that it required a Nationalisation of the corporation in the USA - ie Obama bought a 60% share in the compant just to keep it from going into receivership. They refloated GMH with the US tax payer controlling 30%, half the original stake (thats another story in itself)

Well during this financial crisis the only international arm of GMH that was still making a profit was its operations in Australia. And if you took out the tax breaks, susidies and freebies that the Australian goevrnmetn was handing out to GMH Australia, then it too would not have been making a profit during that crisis period.

A sillier nation than Australia cannot possibly exist anywhere on the planet.

We will sell any of our national tresures and assets to anyone for a dollar and dont realise that it costs us two dollars plus our soul, plus our long term prosperity

Even our beloved mining industry isnt ours - its about 2/3 foreign owned (mainly  US controlled)

Our electricity producers are foregin owned - about 60% of the profits from power generation goes off shore.

In fact the Carbon tax on polluters will actually keep a percentage of that profit in Asutralia - ironically

its pathetic to be part of it

Bobby. wrote on Apr 15^th, 2011 at 12:20am:


have a look what has happened in the Australian resource sector ovber the past decade or so, Their pre tax profits have skyrocketed and yet the Australian government's take has not followed the trend.

And about 2/3 of these pre tax proftis go off shore

are we insane?



And the electricity generation sector produces multi billion dollar net profits - about 60% of which goes off shore.

Industry Research Report Excerpt
The Electricity Generation industry is expected to generate revenue of $17.24 billion in 2010-11, an average annual growth of 7.1% from $12.23 billion in 2005-06. This positive performance is due to the combination of higher output and substantially higher prices (due mainly to higher fuel input costs). Industry revenue is expected to expand by about 10% in 2010-11, with electricity generation accounting for about 0.5% of Australia's GDP. The industry's net profit is expected to be about $3.5 billion. Since Australia does not export or import electricity, the size of the local market matches output.

Sir lastnail wrote on Apr 15^th, 2011 at 1:33am:


of course its a joke - and the Australian government wasnt fooled - it knew what was going on but needed a justifiable pretense so that it can hand over the 200 million dollars.

Its just to keep the industry viable and also to make it appear that it isnt a subsidy or market manipulation.

If they were serious about a new greener engine they would have maybe given them 10 million for a proposal and prototype to be developed - followed by staged payments for each commercialisation stage.

you dont just hand over that sort of funding without mile stones being met incrementally. Standard practice - In fact even home builders do that to save their bacon in case the project is delayed or your not happy with the work.

One big Corporate welfare Scam

<<Just ignore them, they have no idea what BP really is about.>>
.............................................................

You never know, they could know a little bit about BP and the filth it leaves in the environment, most people do.......even the most uneducated of people have seen pictures of the dead birds and fish and the people who's livelihoods that have been destroyed by a company that has no principles.

BP is about cutting costs at all costs, and having total disregard for both humanity and the environment. BP sucks the life out of the earth.

As I've said before, it should have been MANDATORY, at
LEAST 15 years ago, for ALL CARS sold in Aus to be capable
of being run on CNG.

AND the price of CNG for powering vehicles should have been
pegged at the SAME PRICE we're 'giving' it to China for.

Then, we'd have no reliance on foreign oil, and would be
regarded as a world leader in oil-conservation and in reducing
vehicle-generated pollution. AND the costs of running a vehicle
would have dropped by over 50% (EST.).

But, noooooo.

Either someone threw it into the 'too hard' basket, or there
are vested interests which stand to lose, and have the govt
over a (oil) barrel.

Bloody deplorable. Aus misses the bus yet again.

Kat wrote on Apr 20^th, 2011 at 6:25am:


they will never do that. Just look what happened to LPG. It slowly crept up and up an up....

Fossil Fools = tax for the government

hawil wrote on Apr 20^th, 2011 at 5:58pm:


That graph is from a treasury estimate report - The Australian government is well aware of how much revenue they obtain from the mining and resource sector and how much their profits have risen over the past decade or so

Its not a trade secret

What's important to know is that the Australian resource sector is almost 70% foreign owned.

RIO TINTO (72% foreign owned)
BHP Billiton (40% foreign owned)

The resource sector employs about 3% of the total workforce in Australia.

I would place a small flat rate tax on every tonne of mineral or resource extracted from the ground. Even if its 5% or less of the total cost of the mineral you would see a lot more money going into national treasury. It would be like a GST - self correcting for inflation and essentially independent of profit margins OR whether the corporation is Australian or foreign

We are so dumb - when the resources dwindle - and they will - we will be left with a baron wasteland full of evironmental disaster holes to clean up

What will we do then? Re-construct and Re-energise our lost manufacturing industries so that they can compete with German excellence and Chinese economies of scale???

I dont think so.