Australians on Monday were offered cash rebates to convert their vehicles to run on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) rather than petrol in a government move to reduce the country’s dependence on Middle East oil.
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Prime Minister John Howard unveiled a $A1.6bn ($US1.2bn) programme over eight years to help combat high world oil prices, but said there was no way to escape them, Reuters reported.
“This is a difficult time for Australians faced with high petrol prices,” Howard reportedly told parliament. He said world oil prices had risen by about 17% in the past year and the price of petrol at pumps had followed suit, causing voter anger at the rising cost of filling up the family car.
Under the new programme, the government will give a $A1,000 rebate to people who buy new LPG-powered cars for personal use, and a $A2,000 rebate to people who convert their cars to use LPG, the news agency said.
An ACNIelsen poll in Fairfax newspapers on Monday reportedly said 75% of voters were unhappy with the government’s response to high petrol prices – about double the number who were dissatisfied about petrol prices a year ago.
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By GlobalDataReuters noted that Australia’s 20.6m people own about 10.7m passenger cars. The country produces 4,600 megalitres (1,200m US gallons) of LPG a year and exports about 2,800m litres a year.
Industry analysts told the news agency Australians have been slow to change to LPG-powered cars. Only a small number of vehicles can use the cheaper alternative to petrol, with the bulk of those used as taxis or commercial vehicles.
Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane said 25,000 to 30,000 cars currently used LPG, but about 3m more could easily be converted, according to the report.
“Australia is exporting LPG. We have ample supplies of it. What we wanted to do is increase consumption of LPG and increase Australia’s self-sufficiency,” he told Australian television.
Australia’s main motoring body, the NRMA, said the measures would make it viable for people to convert their cars to LPG.
Spokesman Alan Evans told Reuters motorists who drive 15,000 km (9,300 miles) to 20,000 km a year would save A$30 to A$40 a week on their fuel bill, but noted Australia had shortages of people qualified to install LPG units in cars.
“This is something you cannot have your backyard mechanic do,” he told Reuters.
Howard reportedly said the government would also do more to encourage ethanol blends in fuel, with payments of up to $A20,000 to petrol retailers to help them install new pumps capable of selling ethanol blends. He also announced extra funding for the government’s chief geological organisation, Geoscience Australia, to fund more exploration and mapping of potential offshore oil and gas fields.
He said Australia had some 40 offshore basins that displayed signs of oil, but half of them were unexplored, Reuters added.
