SAUSTI'. ALIA, 9 May 1974
SOIL PRICES
Mr. Anthony has finally come clean on the Liberal
oil price increase. He admitted in Perth yesterday that
Australian crude oil prices should be raised by at least
per cent this would mean a rise with mark ups of at least
3 cents in every gallon bought by the motorist. Quienslanders
use over 350 million gallons every year the proposal Mr.
Anthony has revealed would cost Australians over 1G60 million.
This is no way to beat inflation; it would make it worse.
There would be a direct effect on all motorists and and
indirect effect on all commodities because of increased
production and transport costs.
As the Prices Justification Tribunal report shows
the impact of the world energy crisis caused a rise of only
1 cent per gallon about a quarter less than the Shell
Company asked for and which they would have got under a Liberal
Government. Opposition spokesmen are still talking about
increasing Australian prices to world prices. This would
increase petrol prices to the motorist not by 3 cents per
gallon, which is all that Mr. Anthony can admit so close to an
election, but by over 20 cents per gallon. The Prices Tribunal
Report i-ndicates they would already have gone up 13 cents.
The Opposition is clearly committed to revise the
Australian Government's policy which prevents an increase
in Australian oil prices. The Government has been successful
in this policy. Petrol will go up by only 1 cent per gallon as
a result of the world energy crisis. Since November, it has
gone up, in England, by 35 cents a gallon, in France by 32 cents,
in Italy by 39 cents, in Holland by 27 cents and in the U. S. A.
by 9 cents.
r -2-
Australians should be warned by the hints of
Liberal policy which could increase oil prices by over
cnts. Mr. Anthony will admit to only 3 cents but neither
he nor Mr. Snedden will deny that it might be more. Even the
3 cents is three times what the Prices Tribunal allowed.
Even the 3 cents per gallon increase would provide
a gift of $ 160 million to the profits of Esso and B. H. P.
The 3 cents which Mr. Anthony himself has now revealed,
would be the greatest stim-ulus to inflation which any
government decision could make. It will increase the price
of petrol directly and it will increase the price of all
manufactured goods. All goods need oil to be produced and
O transported. A rise in the nrice of this basic commodity would
spark off a new inflationary spiral of wage demands and price
O cionmcirnega sedso. w n. We Alhla vet het udrenceids itohnes cwoer nhearv e miandfel atiodne ciiss ionnosw which
are now working would be thrown away by this scandalous
proposal. An increase in the price of oil of this size would
cause the worst inflation in our history.
This proposal is typical of the special pleading
of the Liberal and Country Parties for narrow vested interests.
In order to boost the profits of Esso and B. H. P. they would hit
every consumer, every farmer, every manufacturer with huge cost
Sincreases.
O Combine it with their other inflationary proposals,
an indiscriminate tax cut, irresponsible expenditure promises
to every narrow interest group affected by our decisions, the
flood of foreign money which will come in if they lift our
restrictions. They would probably increase indirect charges.
Taxes on petrol, cigarettes, cars, all consume:: goods would
go up. We should remember that the Liberals promised to cut
income tax by S200 million at the 1969 election and they
did. But they increased ihdirect taxes in the 1970 Budget
by .40 million. This is the way with Liberal promises. They
would do it again.
Now we have their admission that they would increase
the price of petrol. If we combine all these things I predict
that inflation would rise to at least 20 per cent this year.
Our policies have brought the rate down it fell by a third in
the first three months of this year. We can beat inflation and
ve will. The Liberal and Country Party promises to the powerful
vested interests that support them and finance them would send
inflation through the roof.