Australia's Carbon Tax Will Become Law on July 1, 2012
Everything's going to go up and they said they're going to compensate 90-odd per cent of Australian people, so why pay the tax in the first place -- I don't understand. - John Davidson, Carbon case studies: What do families think?, ABC News, July 13, 2011The introduction of a carbon price will cost households an extra $9.90 per week on average, while average assistance will be $10.10 per week, according to the Federal Government's modelling. The Government says nine out of 10 households will receive assistance. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says 10 per cent of households will get nothing and 60 per cent will be worse off or line-ball. - How will the carbon price affect you?, ABC News, July 20, 2011
"This is a redistribution pretending to be compensation, it's a tax increase pretending to be an environmental policy. It's socialism masquerading as environmentalism." - Opposition Leader Tony Abbott
"We found it very difficult to identify exactly how many new public servants are going to be employed to deliver this. What we do know is there are six new Commonwealth government bureaucracies and 22 new programs." - Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey
"Australia has lost its manufacturing, all but lost its agriculture, it's lost its tourism industry. We did have the mining industry, now we do not have a mining industry ... the final nail in the coffin was banged in today with this tax." - North Queensland independent MP Bob Katter
"In plain language, 140,000 Australians are employed either directly or indirectly in the black coal industry and we will see ordinary people from Blackwater to Moranbah in Queensland right through to the Hunter and the Illawarra in NSW lose their jobs because of this tax." - Australian Coal Association executive director Ralph Hillman
"Many thousands of small and medium businesses are simply exposed - they're not getting any compensation as a result of this announcement." - Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Anderson
"There'll be increased costs on farms, increased transport costs, increased packaging costs, increased factory costs - the list goes on. Really, we would have trouble believing the Government figures." - Food and Grocery Council head Kate Carnell
"Regardless of the message that comes out that there will be tax benefits, the reality is that price of things will go up and therefore people will see it as an additional GST and they will doubt whether they're going to be fully compensated for it." - Myer chief executive Bernie Brookes
"I think the Government is naive if they think that the price of fuel is not going to go up with the carbon tax. The whole supply chain of fuel will be affected by it and the oil companies will be probably quick to pass on any costs to independent service station operators." - Service Stations Association president Craig Glasby
“Just ask yourself what an emissions trading scheme is all about. It’s a market, a so-called market, in the non-delivery of an invisible substance to no one.” - Tony Abbott, leader of the Liberal Party
Lowy Institute released a poll showing that concern about climate change amongst Australians was up nine points since 2012 and that 45 percent of adults think measures should be taken to prevent it "even if this involves significant costs". - Reuters, July 16, 2014
“Just ask yourself what an emissions trading scheme is all about. It’s a market, a so-called market, in the non-delivery of an invisible substance to no one.” - Tony Abbott, leader of the Liberal Party
Lowy Institute released a poll showing that concern about climate change amongst Australians was up nine points since 2012 and that 45 percent of adults think measures should be taken to prevent it "even if this involves significant costs". - Reuters, July 16, 2014
Australia Passes Controversial Carbon Pollution Tax
November 8, 2011AFP - Australia passed its controversial pollution tax Tuesday in a sweeping and historic reform aimed at lowering carbon emissions blamed for climate change, after years of fierce debate.
Cheers and applause broke out as the Senate approved the Clean Energy Act by 36 votes to 32, requiring Australia's coal-fired power stations and other major emitters to "pay to pollute" from July 1 next year.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard said it was the culmination of a "quarter of a century of scientific warnings, 37 parliamentary inquiries and years of bitter debate and division."
"Today Australia has a price on carbon as the law of our land," she said.
"Today we have made history -- after all of these days of debate and division, our nation has got the job done."Gillard said the scheme -- which will levy a price of Aus$23 (US$23.80) per tonne on carbon pollution before moving to an emissions trading scheme in 2015 -- would begin to address "the devastating impacts of climate change".
Australia was hit by floods and cyclones earlier this year, a cruel twist for areas which have just emerged from epic drought, and scientists have warned climate change will likely make extreme weather events more frequent [see The Truth About Global Warming].
Gillard said the reforms, which include investments in renewable energy sources, would result in Australia cutting its carbon emissions by 160 million tonnes in 2020 -- equivalent to taking 45 million cars off the road.
Only New Zealand and the European Union have taken comparable economy-wide action by introducing cap-and-trade schemes, and the tax will put mining-driven Australia at the forefront of efforts in the Asia-Pacific.
Tuesday's vote caps a tumultuous period in Australian politics, largely centred on how the vast nation, which is among the world's worst per capita polluters, should tackle carbon emissions linked to global warming.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd harnessed an unprecedented wave of popular support for climate change action in 2007, winning election in a landslide after campaigning to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and take other green measures.
But his plans were frustrated by entrenched conservative opposition which led to him shelving a proposed emissions trading scheme, damaging his credibility. He was ousted by Gillard in a Labor party-room coup in 2010.
Gillard went to the subsequent election promising there would be no carbon tax, but later backflipped, saying it was a necessary first step towards a flexible carbon pricing scheme.
Australia is heavily reliant on its coal exports, and thousands have rallied against the levy which they argue will raise living costs, cut jobs and, ultimately, be ineffective.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea is pursuing a "cap without trade" scheme involving some 450 companies from next year in preparation for a full emissions trading scheme (ETS) from January 2015, but Japan shelved national ETS plans late last year.
China is considering a pilot ETS programme in some provinces and while there are sub-national schemes in some parts of North America no broad-scale action has been taken in the United States.
The timing of the vote is significant, representing a firm commitment ahead of high-level UN climate talks in South Africa later this month that are being called a "make or break" meeting for legally binding carbon emission reduction targets.
Video: Watch Julia Gillard's press conference after the legislation passed (ABC News)
Video: Politicians react after the carbon pricing legislation passes the Senate (ABC News)
Carbon Tax Passes Senate
ABC News - Prime Minister Julia Gillard has hailed the passage of the controversial clean energy bills through their final vote in the Senate as "a win for Australia's children".
The legislation passed the Senate 36-32 and will become law from July 1 next year.
At that time polluting industries will pay $23 per tonne of carbon emissions and households will be compensated for extra costs through tax cuts and increased benefits.
"It's a win for those who would seek their fortunes and make their way by having jobs in our clean energy sector," Ms Gillard said at a press conference.
"Today we have made history. After all those years of debate and division, our nation has got the job done."Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan heaped praise on Ms Gillard, saying the reason the legislation passed is because "the PM is as tough as nails".
"Putting in place long-term reform, tough reform in this country is always hard. And this has been hard, a really tough debate," Mr Swan said.
"This has been a victory for the optimists and a defeat for the naysayers."Earlier, directly following the vote, there was glee from the Government and Greens and dismay by the Opposition who were first out of the Senate doors to voice their protests.
Nationals Senator Ron Boswell called independent MP Tony Windsor's support for the bill as "the greatest sell-out since Judas Iscariot took 30 pieces of silver". Country Liberal Party Senator Nigel Scullion said democracy had "faltered".
They were followed closely by the Greens, when leader Bob Brown prefaced his remarks "from the grim to the grinning".
Senator Brown says today is "a green letter day" that will "echo down through the ages".
"The great debate on this legislation is over," he said, vowing the legislation will never be rescinded despite threats by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to do so.
"People 50 years, or 500 years, from now will thank us for doing this.
"This is a vote for Australian householders, economic planners and ecologically sound business, as well as the Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo, the Murray-Darling Basin and 700,000 property owners on our coastal margins."Environmental crusader and former US vice-president Al Gore said on his website "the voice of the people of Australia has rung out loud and clear". He praised the efforts of Ms Gillard in shepherding the legislation through, saying "as the world's leading coal exporter, there's no doubt that opposition to this legislation was fierce".
Promise to repeal
Mr Abbott, who is overseas and missed the historic vote, said Ms Gillard had no mandate to impose the carbon price and the Australian people had been betrayed.
"Today Julia Gillard and the Labor Party have confirmed in law their betrayal of the Australian people," Mr Abbott said in a statement.Three million households will be worse off under the tax, he said.
"The longer this tax is in place, the worse the consequences for the economy, jobs and families," he said.Mr Abbott repeated his promise to scrap the policy.
"It will drive up the cost of living, threaten jobs and do nothing for the environment."
"At the next election I will seek a mandate from the Australian people to repeal this tax."
'Huffing and puffing'
But the suggestion was ridiculed by Ms Gillard, who said statements such as Mr Abbott's "signature in blood" to repeal the legislation was just "huffing and puffing".
"All of that is just to disguise the fact they've got their fingers firmly crossed behind their backs. They've got no intention of repealing this," Ms Gillard said.
And Mr Swan said Mr Abbott had gone overseas "with his tail between his legs after all of the tough-guy talk"."Every living Liberal leader, including the current Leader of the Opposition, is on the record as supporting a price on carbon."
"What a spineless retreat," Mr Swan said.Independent MP Rob Oakeshott, whose support was vital to the bill in the Lower House, said the time had come for politicians to get out of the way and let "the market do its job".
"There is a lot of investment money waiting to come into the domestic market alongside what is already happening in international carbon trading," Mr Oakeshott said in a statement.
"I am excited by the enthusiasm of many people in business who are ready to hit the go button."
Mr Gore said the world "has turned a pivotal corner in the collective effort to solve the climate crisis".
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