I nearly fell off my chair laughing recently when the Petrol Commissioner Pat Walker (with a straight face) vowed to "monitor costs of petrol to make sure they fall into line with international prices". You're kidding right? Now before you defend this lot as only being there a short time, OK I agree, but its the way they are 'starting out' in many issues that has me worried.

The Commissioner has no power to do anything except stamp his foot on the ground in a display of hissy-poo. He could possibly call the fuel companies real nasty names in a childish attempt to be seen to be actually doing something, but apart from that nothing!

In all honesty the Commissioners position was created by Kevin Rudd purely to gather votes of the poor unsuspecting voters (including me) prior to the last Federal election, who are sick to death of being belted around the ears by ever increasing petrol costs. This belongs in the same sorry bag as Petrol Watch.

If Kevin Rudd couldn't do anything about rising petrol, food, interest rates, housing and rental shortages, childcare costs, why intimate he could? Why suggest his crew had the answers, only to hold a massive ideas gathering talkfest immediately after the election?

I think this young buck is going to be caught very short when he tacks the unnecessary costs of Emissions Tax onto all current increases.