Critical Times

The oil monopolies are giant foreign-owned juggernauts
making billions out of this country’s resources, squeezing
those who work for them and holding workers and small
business hostage to their petrol monopoly and their drive
for ever-increasing profits.

They are making billions while ordinary Australians scrimp
and save to afford the petrol they need to get to work.

The government is in league with the oil monopolies
in the ‘import parity pricing’ rort, insisting that Australia
remain tied to imported oil while the cleaner local product is
exported overseas.

Successive governments, state and federal, have abandoned
the suburbs by neglecting the building of sustainable,
effective public transport systems. The car, road transport
and oil monopolies profit from the systematic neglect.

The oil monopolies are notorious for the pillaging of
indigenous people’s lands, plunder of countries’ resources
and the murder of people’s leaders in places like Nigeria.

Their front men, Bush and Cheney were behind the
invasion of Iraq. Whatever lies they told, it was clearly a war
for oil.

People, both here and overseas, pay all down the line
in blood and dollars to line the pockets of these foreign
billionaires.

Even in many oil producing countries like Indonesia and
Venezuela, the rich resource has been exploited for years and
the people haven’t benefitted a bit. Indonesians are suffering a
30 percent rise in the price of petroleum they use for cooking
in the villages and poor areas.

Saudi and Emirates oil princes are the only tiny minority
of people to benefit in the oil producing countries of the
Middle East.

In Australia, everyone is being hit while the oil monopolies
make their billions.

The people in the mortgage belt suburbs surrounding every
major city are particularly hard hit.

Tradespeople going from job to job, transport drivers, and
small business are hit hard by oil price rises.

Governments are thundering that people have to tighten
their belts. At the same time, governments are working to tie
public sector workers to wage rises a lot less than inflation.

Why should workers be tied down to wage rises of 2.5
percent, when people are suffering from petrol price rises,
interest rate hikes and inflation, all robbing people of their
real incomes?

Why should workers be paying all down the line, while the
big foreign-owned oil monopolies are unrestricted in their
profits?

The contradictions between the people and capital are
rising with these price rises, interest rate hikes and cuts to
government services.

The Coalition senses an opportunity and tried to look
concerned without offending the oil monopolies. They have
fooled nobody, and their opportunism has been exposed.

The struggle against the oil monopolies is already on the
lips of tens of thousands across Australia.

Relief from price rises is not enough.

Tax all the multinationals profits over 2.5 percent of
assets.

Tax the profits of the oil monopolies, not the people.

Use taxes on oil monopoly profits to build sustainable
transport and solar, wind and hydro power infrastructure.

Mobilise the people to take on the oil monopolies.

The times demand it.