The road to power?(Labor capping petrol costs)(Brief Article)

OF THE TWO major political parties, Labor is supposedly the more environmentally-aware." So it comes as something of a surprise that Canberra's most prominent size XOS-wearer has committed Labor, if elected, to "capping" the price of petrol. From an environmentalist's point of view one would have thought the higher the price of petrol the better if it reduces the volume of road traffic. (There again perhaps it's not so surprising, given the limitless capacity of some politicians for cynical electoral opportunism.)

"Environmentalists wouldn't know what they're talking about, and frankly should be banned from saying it," roars multi-millionaire businessman Les Hogg, founder and chief executive of Road-Hogg Heavy Haulage & Logistics, speaking by e-voice-mail from his spacious office high on the fifth floor of the control tower & cabin unit of his latest "Roadbuster" heavy transport vehicle as it pounds down the Princes Freeway to the terror of other road-users. "Petrol is as essential to the modern community as the air we breathe--in fact the air we breathe often is largely petrol, particularly in the big cities. And like air, we shouldn't have to pay anything for it--Jeez, Kev, where's yer horn?"--he breaks off to shout a command down the intercom to the driver several storeys below. "Give that ambulance a blast, he's trying to overtake us! Bloody menace, shouldn't be on the road, must be doing 190.

"Where was I? Yeah, price-capping's a move in the right direction but if Beazley is serious about helping the economy he should be looking at supplying petrol free to businesses like mine, businesses that are shouldering an enormous burden simply to guarantee the efficient movement of consumer goods around the ...