17 February 2005 - Media Release

ACCC says petrol prices “Sticky” around holidays

The ACCC today described petrol prices as ‘Sticky’ – in other words, that prices on petrol are being artificially held up over Christmas and on long weekends - yet they can’t do anything about it.

Despite admitting that consumers are being disadvantaged, the ACCC reiterated the point that they really only have an informal price monitoring role.

The ACCC told an estimates committee that despite receiving 1,171 complaints in 2003/04 about high petrol prices, the most the ACCC can do is write complainants a letter outlining how petrol price cycles work in the capital cities.

The ACCC is restricted to acting only when anti-competitive behaviour or predatory pricing is evident, and as a result there is no agency or authority which has the power to act on behalf of consumers when prices get “sticky”.

The Howard Government must ensure that the ACCC has the power to not only monitor prices but be able to fully investigate why significant decreases in costs are often not passed on to consumers.

With fewer and fewer players in the fuel sector, it is more important than ever that Australians consumers are protected from this type of behaviour by a strong and robust Trade Practices Act.

Contact: Adina Cirson - 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334

16 February 2005 - Media Release

Senator Humphries begins campaign to trample tent embassy

Gary Humphries is doing John Howard's dirty work by attempting to create some sort of mandate to forcibly remove the Aboriginal Tent Embassy through a so-called 'consultation'.

Gary Humphries clearly pre-empts this farcical consultation exercise with his stated view:

"The embassy as it stands is doing more harm than good to the reconciliation process. It has gone beyond the role an embassy serves, becoming an unattractive and intimidating camping ground. This is not appropriate for the Parliamentary Triangle. "

Whilst the concerns of local indigenous community representatives must be respected, and I note their concerns, the refusal of the Prime Minister to say sorry to the stolen generation and his refusal to provide leadership on genuine reconciliation with Australia's indigenous population creates the preconditions for an ongoing tent embassy protest on the site.

The Howard Government’s treatment of the tent embassy has always been antagonistic with provocative action by former Territories Minister Wilson Tuckey.  It seems this is the end-game for the tent embassy.

To argue that the tent embassy should go because it is 'unattractive and intimidating' is shallow and irrelevant. It is not trying to be Floriade. 

However, it can be argued that the tent embassy is an important tourist venue for the insight it provides into the past, present and future inter-relationship between indigenous and other Australians.

Regardless of the validity of this point, it seems the Prime Minister is determined to ensure its removal.

This is consistent with other efforts by John Howard to censor national cultural institutions that dare tell Australia's history in ways that make him feel uncomfortable.

Truth, accountability and honesty will once again be the losers under John Howard.

Contact: Adina Cirson - 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334

8 February 2004 - Media Release

Manufactured exports performance weak: RBA

The Reserve Bank has described the growth in manufactured export volumes since 2000 as lacklustre, with growth in exports nearly 25% lower than our global competitors, and our performance “…weak, especially compared with the experience of the 1990’s.”

Yet the Howard Government refuses to acknowledge the urgency of addressing the real industry concerns of massive skills shortages, infrastructure bottlenecks and capacity constraints, all impeding Australian industry’s ability to compete globally.

In the 1990’s under the successful Hawke-Keating Labor Governments’ integrated trade and competitiveness strategies lifted the economy’s productivity, opened new markets and generated increased export growth.

These effective strategies are best evidenced in the RBA figures which show Australia ranked 2nd behind Canada in the 1990’s, in terms of annual growth in manufactured exports, at 12%.  In stark contrast, since 2000, under the Howard Government manufactured export growth has slumped to just 2.7% and consequently overtaken by our competitors.

The RBA statement highlights the Government’s failure to implement a comprehensive industry trade policy for Australia.  It is not surprising that Australian Manufacturers have the lowest level of business confidence of any major industry sector.

Under the Howard Government we have seen  50,000 jobs lost in manufacturing between 2000 and 2004, manufacturing’s contribution to GDP decline, and exports of elaborately transformed manufacturers slow dramatically.

The symptom of this neglect is Australia’s largest ever trade deficit of $25.4 billion – the 7th trade deficit in a row.

Contact: Adina Cirson - 0418 488 295 or 02 6277 3334