Petrol prices The Australian 9 June 2006

JUNE 9:
John Stapleton
Just like everybody else in the country, mum-to-be Belinda Jones, 25, is confused and frustrated by the ever-spiralling price of petrol. Record highs were recorded yesterday ahead of the Queen's Birthday long weekend.

The ever increasing cost of petrol and its flow on effects are impacting on Mrs Jones weekly budget, on her ability to see relatives, and on her ability to take weekend trips away with her husband, something she once loved doing.

``Petrol prices are something that is getting everybody angry and no body feels anything is being done to make it better,'' she said yesterday after spending $80 to fill up the tank.

``All we see is it going up and up and up. I feel for the attendants in the petrol stations, they must be copping a lot of grief. Everyone I know thinks the price of petrol is outrageous.

``You wonder where it is going to stop, how ridiculous is it going to get, and that worries people a lot.
``In the past you could never conceive of paying $2 a litre, but now that seems feasible; and how are people going to afford that?''

Mrs Jones said the price of petrol had doubled since she got her licence 7 years ago, far outstripping the price rise of anything else. ``I think what everyone else think, it is ridiculous,'' she said. ``It is a disgrace that the price has gone up for the long weekend. People on tight budgets, and anyone with kids is on a tight budget, are being squeezed.''

Mrs Jones said like many other working couples she and her husband needed two cars and many of her friends in similar situations had already been forced to compromise by getting rid of one of their vehicles.

But as a nurse and nanny working three different jobs, she really needed a car to get around. As well, the impending birth of her child meant that they would soon be going to one income, making their budget considerably tighter.

``We used to like going on day trips all the time, but now we really think of the petrol cost before thinking of going anywhere,' she said. ``If we go up to the Central Coast on the weekend to visit relatives for instance, which a lot of Sydney people do, we're thinking about the cost all the time.

``In Sydney it doesn't help that the traffic is so hopeless. I get 16 litres for a 100 k's because the traffic is so bad.''

She said their 3-year-old Commodore station-wagon was not the most fuel-efficient vehicle, but with two large dogs and a child on the way they needed it for their lifestyle.

``We're driving down to Melbourne after the baby's born in November to show him or her off to our relatives, and the cost of petrol is a real consideration in that,'' she said. ``If we fly down now my father complains it costs too much to pick us up from the airport.''

She said for people with young children, and particularly for herself with her first baby on the way, seeing relatives, particularly the child's grandparents, was very important. ``It is impacting on people's ability to see their families,'' she said.

The average price of petrol in Sydney yesterday was 144.7 cents per litre, more than 36 cents higher than in June last year.