Bobby. wrote on Mar 19^th, 2026 at 9:48pm:



Plenty of money for subs we don't need -    $364 billion.

but no money for our own fuel supplies.  WTF?

Watched NHK & ANC (Nihon & Philippines) news.
They're in dire straits and feeling the pinch already.

We're doomed:



Petrol prices skyrocketing and pumps running dry across Australia | 9 News Australia

Bobby. wrote on Mar 20^th, 2026 at 7:50am:


Albo and Labor absolutely should have done more to rebuild fuel reserves, no argument there, but pretending this is solely their failure is either ahistorical or deliberately dishonest.

Over the last 30 years, Australia has gone from being broadly self-sufficient in fuel refining to dangerously reliant on imports. Roughly a third of that period was under Labor, the majority under the Coalition, and across both sides there was a willingness to let domestic capability quietly rot in the name of "efficiency".

The major players, Caltex Australia, Shell Australia, and BP Australia, didn't just stumble into this. From the early 2000s onward they systematically shut down or converted local refineries and pivoted to importing refined fuel. Why? Because it was cheaper, margins improved, and they were more than happy to let short-term cost savings override long-term national resilience.

What replaced it was a brittle, just-in-time supply chain model, one that only functions in a fantasy where global trade routes are permanently stable. The moment you introduce geopolitical tension, disrupted shipping lanes, or conflict around key chokepoints, that model doesn't just strain, it collapses.

None of this was unforeseeable. It was the inevitable outcome of decades of deregulation, strategic negligence, and a near-religious faith that the market will always provide, right up until it very clearly doesn't.

And now, layered on top of that fragility, you've got the added chaos driven by Trump. This is what people warned about, repeatedly, for years. Not because they were guessing, but because they understood how interconnected systems break under pressure when led by incompetence.

The pain being felt now isn't abstract, and it isn't accidental. It is the direct result of reckless decision-making, enabled and amplified by those who chose slogans and vibes over evidence and reality.

And to those still trying to deflect or downplay it, save it. This didn't come out of nowhere, and it didn't happen without help. The consequences were predictable, the warnings were clear, and the responsibility doesn't just disappear because it's now inconvenient.

bugger anyone who supported Trump and anyone who continues to.  You're oxygen thieves of the highest order and unworthy of the continued gift of life.

Gnads wrote on Mar 20^th, 2026 at 12:57pm:


My brother inherited the farm and it's still in his family, I was shipped out to get an education when we were kids.

It's telling that this is the point you chose to focus on.

You're like the John West of avoidance.   It's what you reject or ignore that says more than your words do.

ProudKangaroo wrote on Mar 20^th, 2026 at 12:49pm:


Can't argue with that.

They were stupid to support him back in 2016, but I'll give them a pass for that as nobody knew exactly what Trump would be like.

However, anyone who still supports him now is - as you so rightly pointed out - an oxygen thief.

Trump's actions are 1500% inexcusable.

I don’t mean 50%, I mean 14 — 1,500%.

ProudKangaroo wrote on Mar 20^th, 2026 at 12:49pm:



All Labor and Liberal leaders for the last 20 years deserve to go on trial for criminal negligence.