How the 'credit crunch' will hit the UK

'Will one be wanting fries with that?'

Acknowledgement: Clarrie thanks 'Robbo' for passing this one on.

And to think we pay good money for this!

The Federal Member for Cowper, Luke Hartsuyker, who also parades as the Shadow Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs, rose in the House on Wednesday 24 September 2008 and asked this inane question:

My question is to the Assistant Treasurer. Is the minister aware that Google now offers a free petrol price tracker site which allows motorists to search for the cheapest petrol in a given area? In light of this development, will the government abandon its plans to spend over $20 million of public money on its much maligned Fuelwatch scheme?

The Assistant Treasurer, Chris Bowen, provided this response:

Fuelwatch provides information for motorists to get the cheapest possible petrol. The difference between the cheapest and the most expensive petrol in Sydney today is 22c a litre. I cannot tell you where to find the cheapest petrol and I cannot tell you where to find the most expensive because the private sector sites that the honourable member refers to have only a selection of petrol stations, not all of them. Lots of people understand that. The people of Western Australia understand that; Fuelwatch has been in operation there for eight years. Perhaps that is why the Liberal Party in Western Australia promised to keep Fuelwatch at the last election. Perhaps that is why Colin Barnett, the new Premier of Western Australia, has said, ‘I will not touch Fuelwatch; it works.’ We have the Western Australian Liberal Premier saying he will keep Fuelwatch and we have had the Leader of the Liberal Party in New South Wales promising Fuelwatch because Fuelwatch will work. If Fuelwatch is defeated in the Senate, the only people in Australia with the benefit of Fuelwatch will be the only people living under a Liberal government, the people of Western Australia. It shows what hypocrites honourable members opposite are.

Source: Hansard (24/9/2008,page 62)


Mr Hartsuyker obviously doesn't know that Google's price tracker site doesn't cover Coffs Harbour, the principal urban centre in his electorate.

US 08: The strain begins to show?

Two faces of Michelle Obama showing the changes

such a long presidential campaign can bring.

Images from Google and Obama for America

Janelle Saffin delivers bad driving message to minister

Janelle Saffin, Labor MP for Page continues to keep her word to the North Coast community that she will stay closely involved with local concerns.

The Northern Star article yesterday:

Ms Denny has serious concerns for the stretch of Pacific Highway between the NSW Mid-North Coast and Far North Coast.
Nine people have died on this section of highway since June this year, and Ms Denny would like it to be part of a pilot study on how effective the hotline could be in reducing deaths on the 18,000 kilometres of roads in NSW.
Federal Page MP Janelle Saffin has given her support to the hotline initiative. She has delivered Ms Denny's discussion paper to Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese.
"It's about improving safety on the roads; this targets our behaviour," she said.
Ballina MP Don Page has shown his support by writing to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and the National Transport Commission.
"There is merit in the general concept of more eyes on the road," he said.

For all those travelling on NSW North Coast roads who find themselves concerned about the behaviour of some heavy vehicle traffic or fellow drivers, Ms. Denny's website is COASTtoCOAST100.