drivers face fuel ration shock

Drivers face fuel ration shock

Brian Williams and Graham Redfearn
May 17, 2008 12:00am

FUEL rationing may be one in a series of shocks facing drivers and commuters in Queensland.

Looming oil shortages would produce the biggest change in society since the industrial revolution, Sustainability Minister Andrew McNamara warned yesterday.

A report by Mr McNamara for state Cabinet on the impact of the fuel crisis is expected to include recommendations on rationing, the future of public and private transport and sustainable population issues.

It has been ordered on the premise there is overwhelming evidence world oil production will peak in under a decade. It is expected to recommend risk mitigation measures such as cuts in fuel consumption and encouraging the development and use of alternative fuels, technologies and strategies.

It will also outline demographic and regional changes as Queenslanders change travel, work and living habits.

"I think people are going to be in for a shock when they find it's too expensive to drive their cars to work and then, when they get down to the station, they find the train is full and they can't get on board," Mr McNamara said.

To underscore his concerns Mr McNamara will appear in a documentary film premiering next week in which he says the days when Queenslanders could "travel on a whim" in oil-powered vehicles are numbered.

The documentary Australia Pumping Empty, argues southeast Queensland is squandering billions on road, bridge and tunnel projects which few will be able to afford to travel on.

Mr McNamara says he will recommend the State Government focuses urgently on ways to cut private-car use.

"I cannot overstate this – we need to adopt a wartime mentality," he said. "We're going to face a level of urgency that will require dramatic change."

Private car use was expected to trend towards hybrid vehicles and then to electric. "But will we have enough (electricity generating) capacity when everyone comes home and plugs their cars in to recharge?" he said.

Mr McNamara said no government would want to introduce fuel rationing but it could not be ruled out.

It might become an option as fuel supplies ran down and prices rose because otherwise it might be a case of only the rich being able to afford private transport, he said.

"We face the need for a whole new economy, from the way we generate power, to how we deliver water, to how we live," he said.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23710412-952,00.html