Aussies = World Championship Whingers
We Aussies like to make a big deal about how well we do in the world sporting arena. Out media loves the line that we "punch above our weight".
Well, here's another world title Aussies, in particular our high-quality commercial media, can surely claim: World Championship Whingers!
As everyone is (or at least should be) aware, world oil prices have been at record highs lately. This is translating to record high prices at the petrol station. Of course, this is a bad thing for the average consumer and transport worker. But the way the media is bleating, it seems that the Australian government can actually do something about the problem. It's an easy way for them to show how much they're supporting the "Aussie battler".
But, in fact, they're just using this as a way to drum up patronage. They don't bother taking the time to explain the often complicated reasons for the price rise, as more serious media organisations attempt to do. For example:
"Who knows why oil prices are so high?" [BBC]
They also conveniently neglect to mention that Australians tend to pay less for petrol than many other industrialised nations:
Average gasoline prices around the world [Wikipedia]
For example (as at May 2008), Aussies pay on average US$1.48 per litre, while western Europeans pay between US$1.88 and US$2.74 per litre!
Given this is an Olympic year, I propose a new event: Whinging. The Australian media would surely give the Poms a run for their money in that category.
Well, here's another world title Aussies, in particular our high-quality commercial media, can surely claim: World Championship Whingers!
As everyone is (or at least should be) aware, world oil prices have been at record highs lately. This is translating to record high prices at the petrol station. Of course, this is a bad thing for the average consumer and transport worker. But the way the media is bleating, it seems that the Australian government can actually do something about the problem. It's an easy way for them to show how much they're supporting the "Aussie battler".
But, in fact, they're just using this as a way to drum up patronage. They don't bother taking the time to explain the often complicated reasons for the price rise, as more serious media organisations attempt to do. For example:
"Who knows why oil prices are so high?" [BBC]
They also conveniently neglect to mention that Australians tend to pay less for petrol than many other industrialised nations:
Average gasoline prices around the world [Wikipedia]
For example (as at May 2008), Aussies pay on average US$1.48 per litre, while western Europeans pay between US$1.88 and US$2.74 per litre!
Given this is an Olympic year, I propose a new event: Whinging. The Australian media would surely give the Poms a run for their money in that category.
Labels: cars, materialism, media
posted by Bruno at 5:08 PM [permalink]
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