Plea for urgent action on fuel dependence

Hobart City Council Alderman Philip Cocker has called for urgent action on Tasmania’s fuel dependence before it bankrupts the State. Alderman Cocker was commenting on the latest predictions by Goldman Sachs that the price of a barrel of oil will reach $120 a barrel by the end of this year and $140 a barrel by the end of next year.

The Goldman Sachs prediction is based on a view that Saudi Arabian oil supplies have reached their peak of production and they will unable to increase production.

‘We are using approximately a billion dollars worth of petroleum products a year here in Tasmania. This quantum of rise will remove hundreds of millions of dollars from our economy,’ Alderman Cocker said. ‘It will potentially have a greater impact over time than State budget cuts and will impact households greater than any power increases.’

Alderman Cocker said, ‘I am calling on the Minister for Sustainability Mr Mckim to treat this issue as urgent and create a taskforce from the three tiers of Government, community and business to address this issue.

‘Not only do fuel rises affect our disposable income, but they dramatically affect food and transport prices,’ Alderman Cocker concluded.

Alderman Cocker recently successfully moved a motion at a Hobart City Council meeting calling for Council to examine the effects of Peak Oil on the Council, the community and local business. He also has written to all Tasmanian Councillors asking them to look at the issues associated with Peak Oil.