Carbon
price talks 'reveal tax chaos'
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| Australian Federal Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott |
TONY Abbott (Australian Leader of the
Opposition) has seized on revelations the government is considering cutting its
carbon floor price, as Wayne Swan (Federal Treasurer) refused to rule out
changes to the scheme.
The Opposition Leader said talks between Labor
and the Greens on dropping the $15 floor price, to apply when the carbon tax
reverts to an emissions trading scheme, showed the policy was flawed and the
government in disarray.
“It just shows this is a government which is
in chaos five days into the carbon tax,” Mr Abbott said.
“Five days into the carbon tax, they're
already trying to change it.
“You can't fix this carbon tax, you've just
got to get rid of it, and the only way to bin the tax is to change the
government.”
The Australian has
confirmed talks between Climate Change Minister Greg Combet and the Greens on
the final shape of the floor price.
According to sources, Mr Combet last week put
to the Greens that the $15 floor price, which will underpin the scheme for its
first three years after it becomes a floating ETS in 2015, be dropped.
The Australian has also been told that Mr
Combet raised moving to a cap-and-trade system earlier.
The Treasurer today refused to comment on the
talks but played down their significance.
“I think there will be discussions at all
levels, from time to time, in the community, from the business community, from
others, about matters to do with the carbon price,” Mr Swan said.
“But it doesn't change the fact that there is
a fixed price for three years.”
Pressed on what floor price should apply when
the carbon tax reverted to an emissions trading scheme, Mr Swan said: “I'm not
getting into the hypotheticals of that. We've got a fixed price for three
years.”
The Australian understands discussions have
centred on how to more closely align the Australian scheme to the European
Union's scheme - the biggest carbon trading market in the world.
The Gillard government hopes to link the
Australian emissions trading scheme to the EU market, where carbon is currently
trading at about $9.80 a tonne compared to the fixed starting price in
Australia of $23 and the floor price from 2015 of $15.
Earlier this week, New Zealand said it would
soften the impact of its ETS, delaying plans to increase its low carbon price.
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| A farming scene near Queenstown, New Zealand |
Mr Abbott said New Zealand's move was the
latest evidence of a trend in which nations across the world were rejecting
carbon taxes.
Peter’s Comment
You can smell the carbon rising from their
collective breaths in Canberra, the Australian Capital.
Carbon taxes have always been a speak good,
feel good, fraud on ordinary people who will pay the price of inflation and
unemployment for no good purpose.
In 2003 the New Zealand government raised a
stink when it proposed a tax on dairy farmers because rich pasture produces stomach
gases in dairy cows. Farmers overwhelming rejected the ‘Fart’ Tax.
Only wet-behind-the-ears countries will impose
carbon taxes and when they wake up to reality the tax will die a silent,
obscure death.
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