Gas pump rage as prices soar

By MICHELLE PAINE 04mar00

SERVICE station attendants in Tasmania have been abused and threatened with violence as a result of a sudden 6c-a-litre rise in the price of LPG.

Ampol Davey St owner Ray Lonergan said the angriest people were those who had converted their car to gas in the belief it would save them money.

The rise on Thursday by Origin (formerly Boral) Energy, forced by international events, would hurt taxi operators the worst.

"It's impossible to pass the cost on to the passenger, because the meters are already set and a lengthy approval process has to be gone through to change them," said Mr Lonergan, who also runs a fleet of 13 cabs.

"The operators have to absorb the cost and it's a very hefty cost to absorb.

"One operator said to me if it didn't drop very quickly it would send them to the wall, that's how tight they are running. And this on top of the petrol prices, too!"

He and his staff had suffered physical threats.

"One person did his 'nana. When he undid the hose he tore it loose from the top of the pump, he was so wild. He rang back later and apologised."

He feared anger would intensify and believed it could lead to physical attacks on attendants.

"It's getting to the state, in the next week or so, there's going to be violence."

Some service stations should be closed down, he said

"If the Government had the guts they'd close sites that are not environmentally clean. There are too many in Tasmania  15 more than there should be in Hobart."

He also believed the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission could do more.

Taxi Association Tasmania president Toby Green said the rise was a burden.

"There's no recovery possible in the short-term because of the parliamentary process required to alter the metered fare," Mr Green said.

A CPI increase was only passed on to the fare in December and increases happened only about every 18 months or so.

"We're always way behind. The last rise was only 1.5% and that was the first one in two years."

He stressed the owner or owner-driver paid for fuel, not always the driver.

Although the price rise is international, retailers in Victoria, for example, are expected to absorb more of the increase because of the volume of trade.

A spokeswoman for Origin Energy said price rises increased incentive to bring natural gas to Tasmania.

"Of course it makes it very attractive because natural gas is cheaper than LPG and the price doesn't fluctuate locally," she said.

http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,2294,386496%255E1244,00.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), March 04, 2000

Answers

Hello Carl,
"One person did his 'nana..." - an OZ expression of someone blowing up, throwing a temper tantrum etc. It's is common talk in town and quite a few people do their 'nana' at petrol prices.

PS. It's spelled Tasmania, an Australian island.

Regards from Down Under

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), March 04, 2000.