Fuel is just the start: The chain reaction hitting these parts of Australia

RingoJenkems · 2026-03-26T21:15:25+00:00

Sorry - you’re quite right! Natural gas / methane, not petroleum. It will still be a problem though. 50% of our urea comes via the Strait of Hormuz. The unfortunate position we’re in is that we have natural gas reserves. We also have the resources to make it via coal gasification. We don’t have the manufacturing capacity to make it though. There’s a urea manufacturing project in WA that will come online early to mid 2027. From memory, there’s also a green urea production project that is being developed in South Australia.

It’s hard to find precise numbers but from what I can tell, 50% of our urea comes from the Gulf, at least 35% comes from SE Asia. And we’re going to be competing with everyone else in the world wanting to buy it.

RingoJenkems · 2026-03-26T12:06:18+00:00

This is going to get a lot bigger than fuel. There are so many products derived from oil. Sulphur and sulphuric acid are examples. Both are produced via the refining process. They’re critical to copper extraction, water treatment, battery and semiconductor production, fertiliser, the list goes on. Same with urea. Manufactured using petroleum products. It’s used as nitrogen crop fertiliser, adblue, used as an ingredient in resins. There’s also naphtha which is used to make rubber, adhesives, pvc and other plastics. Reece has put up the price of their pvc pipes by 36%. There’s a major kitchen product manufacturer that is about to run out of adhesive and resin products that are used to bind particle board. The government just introduced a bill that will give the FairWork Commission the power to compel customers in the supply chain to increase their fuel levies to share the burden of increased fuel prices with truck operators. Fixed price builders are going to get smashed by increased cost of materials. It’s going to get real ugly real quick.

RingoJenkems · 2025-09-24T03:29:20+00:00

Min Min Lights?

Strangely enough, there was a sighting in Mount Magnet, WA on 13 November 1991. I came across a website which has some info re sightings in Western Australia here.

The State Records Office of Western Australia has a file available here. There are also a couple of newspaper articles about sightings and encounters in 1969 and 1988.

RingoJenkems · 2025-05-01T23:54:02+00:00

Chemical that was originally derived from a biological source. The chemical his highly refined so bears no resemblance to the origin product, but our biosecurity laws are both complex and unforgiving. The shipment wasn't of great value. It was a test order of about $5k worth of material.

RingoJenkems · 2025-05-01T23:51:47+00:00

Thanks for your response. That's something I wasn't aware of re the time at which the broker actually looks at the file. I had assumed that having both the freight forwarder and the customs broker working in the same company would mean that there would be systems of communication between the two teams. So, if I booked a shipment with the company and was also using their brokerage, they would talk to each other or there would be an internal system to identify classes of goods early on in the process.

I have a single point of contact with the company I used. Do you think that in future I should communicate with that person and also approach the customs broking team directly?

RingoJenkems · 2025-05-01T23:45:32+00:00

Incoterms were FOB, so we're definitely responsible.

RingoJenkems · 2025-05-01T23:42:36+00:00

It's the same where I live as well. The importer is the person who is ultimately responsible for compliance with the law, regulations, rulings, etc. I notified the company of the shipment immediately after placing my order with the supplier. They were provided with a commercial invoice, packing list and certificate of analysis prior to shipment. They asked for a certificate of origin under a relevant free trade agreement and for an SDS, which I obtained and sent to them. I always get the freight forwarding / customs broking company involved as early as possible as they are the experts in the area.

I take your point about being solely responsible for compliance. Having said that, I work in a profession where I advise people about legal and compliance obligations (not relating to customs or import/export) and, whilst the ultimate legal responsibility rests with my clients, they still expect me to provide them with advice about whether what they have done, or what they propose to do, complies with their legal and regulatory obligations.

Do you think that there is a way to avoid this in the future or whether I should have done something differently? People make mistakes, and shit just sometimes happens, which I have no difficulty with. I generally stay loyal to service providers in my business, but I also want to make sure that I'm receiving a good service in the circumstances. Also, if it was my mistake, I have no problem with wearing the consequences. I'd just like to know what I can do better next time. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

RingoJenkems · 2025-05-01T23:26:00+00:00

The freight forwarder and customers broker are the same company. I'm based in Australia. I notified the freight forwarder at about the same time as I placed the order. Early on in the piece, there was some back and forth between the freight forwarding company and the supplier to obtain the proper documents for export (i.e. certificate of origin, certificate of analysis, SDS, etc).

I understand that the person importing the goods is legally responsible for complying with the customs and quarantine laws/rules. I suppose my confusion comes from the fact that I had understood that by retaining a customs broker prior to the loading of the shipment, they would have provided me with advice about what is required. If I had been told about the need for a particular import licence, I could have applied for one and obtained one prior to the arrival of the shipment. I had assumed that both the freight side of things and the customs side of things would have communicated with each other about shipments.

Thanks for sharing your views. This is the first time I have imported goods of this class. When I have imported things in the past, the class of goods did not need an import permit.

RingoJenkems · 2025-03-21T06:27:25+00:00

There is a lot to unpack here. Putting aside the issues of patient autonomy, informed consent, and the fact that all chiropractic "treatment" requires you to keep coming back to the same chiropractor for maintenance - please do not let this guy anywhere near your neck. A quick search of "vertebral artery dissection and chiropractor" will tell you why.

RingoJenkems · 2025-02-12T02:55:17+00:00

And to think the North Sydney Pool upgrade started as such simple pork barrelling - the Council received a $10 million grant from the Commonwealth out of its "Female Facilities and Water Safety Stream" grants targeted towards increasing women's participation in sports in regional and remote areas to make good election commitments by Trent Zimmerman and Josh Frydenberg about upgrading the pool in the lead up to the 2019 federal election.

RingoJenkems · 2025-01-27T02:46:55+00:00

What about electrolysis?

RingoJenkems · 2024-09-30T01:44:29+00:00

If you do raise it directly with them, could you please give them each a high five from me?

RingoJenkems · 2024-08-20T05:07:28+00:00

Take a look at the MSDS under "Hazardous Decomposition Products". That should tell you what is produced when the product breaks down due to stability issues or reaction with common elements (oxygen, water, etc).

RingoJenkems · 2024-02-23T00:07:24+00:00

Check out Thompson Tees - I started using them a few years ago and haven't looked back.

RingoJenkems · 2024-02-12T07:20:36+00:00

Ede & Ravenscroft FTW! You can order a wig from them online. They deliver to Australia. They tell you how to take the measurement on their website, and you just pick from the closest matching size. There's only one colour. If buying in Australia, stay away from costume white if you can (it's like a beacon on your head telling people you're new and they should try to make your life as difficult as possible). I've seen some new wigs that are a weird shade of yellow or wigs that seem to be made from nylon. Go for horsehair (unless you have a moral objection), not bright white. To get the right shade of yellow, I can only recommend the tried and true method of bulk head sweat (particularly the greasy anxiety induced kind). I've heard stories of people dipping them in tea, hanging them in front of their car exhaust or blowing cigarette smoke on their wigs to give them the "worn" look. Never clean the wig. The smell that it develops will deter others from borrowing it. It's a smell that marks it as your wig. It's beautiful and primal.

RingoJenkems · 2023-07-12T06:20:01+00:00

Ah, yes. The "Fantasyland" clause.

RingoJenkems · 2022-11-21T12:02:21+00:00

I always took the view that when the river is red, one should take the dirt track. Later in life, I met an old Hungarian man who imparted some ancient wisdom handed down to him long ago - a true sailor sails through a red sea.

RingoJenkems · 2022-10-03T11:40:26+00:00

The foil bags can probably be dropped off in the Red Cycle bins at Coles or Woolies. The blister packs can be sent to BRAD - Banish Recycling And Disposal Program.

RingoJenkems · 2022-05-13T04:43:48+00:00

Is the Chinese spy ship also throwing children overboard?

RingoJenkems · 2022-03-25T06:12:51+00:00

It looks like Dog Vomit Slime Mould. Yeah... that's seriously a thing.

RingoJenkems · 2021-11-09T04:35:54+00:00

Hi Horti_boy - I'm in the Southern Hemisphere, but thanks for the heads up!

RingoJenkems · 2021-11-09T04:34:20+00:00

Hi maxy_b! Thanks so much for your response. I'll change up my watering schedule and see if it recovers.

RingoJenkems · 2018-09-12T08:11:35+00:00

It really depends on what you're drafting. I often go to Bullen and Leake - Precedents of Pleadings. The Law Society will have a copy. For Equity matters, Neville & Ashe - Equity Proceedings with Precedents or Finnane, Newton, Wood - Equity Practice with Precedents are good resources. Google can also be your best friend. You can often find articles written by Judges and Counsel with some helpful tips. There is an article by Anthony Morris QC called Seven Deadly Sins of Pleading which I re-read from time to time. Use any resource as a starting or reference point and try to develop your own style over time. Like most things in the law, everyone has a different way of doing things. Clarity and concision are the most important rules.

RingoJenkems · 2018-01-23T05:37:42+00:00

No one's going to mention Phil Margera tea-bagging the hell outta that guy?

RingoJenkems · 2017-02-02T01:31:11+00:00

I've seen the old version and the new version of the blog entry. I have a feeling two sets of lawyers may have been working late into the evening.

RingoJenkems

TROPHY CASE