News
Petrol crisis? Some days I forget where I parked my car
1+ day, 17+ hour ago (453+ words) April 3, 2026 " 11:30am A few months ago I wrote about the mental health impact of good town planning. That is, how our streets, parks and neighbourhoods can be better designed to essentially make us happier. A reader responded that they were sick…...
This is the car driver’s version of the Sydney v Melbourne debate
1+ day, 23+ hour ago (272+ words) As automatics rule, manual cars are fast becoming a curiosity. One hands-on aficionado rues their demise. The passenger pigeon. The Tasmanian tiger. The dodo. The age of disco. All gone. Now something else seems to be heading towards the age…...
These three cars have surged in price in the first fortnight of petrol pain
1+ day, 23+ hour ago (498+ words) April 3, 2026 " 5:00am Pain at the petrol pump is pushing Australians into the second-hand car market where prices are climbing for EVs while dropping for unleaded diesel makes. Data compiled from more than 160,000 new and used car vehicle listings by the firm,…...
Electric vehicles are having a moment, but questions linger over the network
1+ day, 23+ hour ago (726+ words) April 3, 2026 " 5:00am Motorists are abandoning petrol and diesel vehicles as the effects of the fuel crisis continue to bite in the lead-up to Easter, with public electric vehicle chargers recording a 20 per cent spike in use. Electric vehicle drivers have been…...
EVs are for everyone, no matter where they live
3+ day, 10+ hour ago (633+ words) Where is the logic in saying a 26" reduction in excise will increase demand? Families are already $1 a litre over budget. This is now being reduced to 74". How do you splash out with 26" you didn't have in the first place? Ian…...
Demand for electric vehicles surges as discounted loans hit market
4+ day, 4+ hour ago (782+ words) April 1, 2026 " 12:30am Electric vehicle rentals are booming as drivers try to avoid high petrol prices before the Easter long weekend, and one site has reported that bookings for EVs and hybrids increased by 388 per cent one day this month compared with…...
Big Petrol, RBA will syphon up fuel excise savings
4+ day, 10+ hour ago (242+ words) Cutting fuel excise will not discourage people from driving, and hence it will not make our fuel stocks last longer. Free public transport, working from home and cost relief for groups that need to drive make far more sense. Elaine…...
Relief at the petrol pump to begin tomorrow
4+ day, 22+ hour ago (50+ words) From tomorrow, fuel excise will be halved and the heavy vehicle road user tax will be halted for three months. From tomorrow, fuel excise will be halved and the heavy vehicle road user tax will be halted for three months....
As more EVs hit the road, this gap in our tax system needs fixing
5+ day, 23+ hour ago (977+ words) March 30, 2026 " 5:07am History suggests that when you get a crisis as big as the current oil shock, it not only causes short-term problems like inflation, but also leads to long-term changes in people's behaviour. The global financial crisis of 2008 is said…...
First came petrol pain. Now get ready for high-priced groceries
6+ day, 11+ hour ago (879+ words) March 29, 2026 " 5:03pm Households have been warned that their weekly grocery bill could soon soar if the federal government fails to slice trucking industry taxes, as Anthony Albanese and state premiers prepare to map out ways to stop runaway demand for petrol…...