Carbon Pricing
With Julia Gillard’s carbon price finally locked in, several questions in national politics can be pared back to one suggesting Tony Abbot’s enviably straight run toward the 2013 election might require a tack or two.
So what is this “big question”?
It centres on the single most important difference around which Tony Abbott has constructed his strategy and it goes something like this: will the carbon price lose its current locomotive power in Australian politics and come to resemble a Medicare-slash-GST phenomena, or will it remain where it is now, more akin to say, the toxicity of WorkChoices?
Continue reading "The carbon baby is cooing, but wait till the terrible twos" »
Julia Gillard might still need the Greens for support on important legislation, but the success of the carbon pricing package doesn’t mean a solid partnership has been formed.
In fact, it is possible there will be some big brawls ahead as Labor minister stop biting their tongues and tell the Greens what they really think.
Or more accurately, tell the electorate.
Continue reading "This could be the end of a beautiful fake friendship" »
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jenny says:
Oh if only Matt!! This ‘is not a carbon tax’ its actually wealth distribution and a claw back of funds this ‘gov’ has raped from our once healthy bank balance. The labor faithful are just too ashamed to admit it! Read more »
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Al Truist says:
Lol Herr Ryan… still not getting it. I’m not voting for anyone, there is no election and there wont be for about another 2.5 years. Come back and ask me then… Libs might have woken up, clearing out phoney Tony would be a great start. Read more »
You’ve put a price on carbon and stumped up $13 billion dollars for renewable energy. It doesn’t sound very hard when you say it quickly.
Actually, it has been excruciatingly hard. Is there anyone who isn’t completely sick and tired of the whole debate?
From the moment Tony Abbott got the leadership, he and his dogged faction of supporters in the media have been biting and snarling at anyone associated with climate action. As Laurie Oakes wrote of Mr Abbott recently, “His style is pure attack dog, as feral as you’d get.”
Continue reading "The carbon tax is a done deal. Now stop your whingeing" »
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Stan Ivanov says:
Well, I voted for the Greens to put some sense into this circus. I voted for a carbon tax, or the idea of implementing one. I also have every right to complain of the noise that people like you create. So, either come up with something meaningful, or shut up. Read more »
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James says:
Well then you should start protesting the plan for Australia’s gas prices to go to international parity i.e. double/triple what they are today. Read more »
Two years after Kevin Rudd’s carbon pollution reduction scheme crashed in Parliament, Julia Gillard is poised to achieve what he could not: a fixed price on carbon leading to a full emissions trading scheme from 2015.
Debate in the Senate will be “guillotined” later today to bring on a vote on the bills thereby concluding the crucial legislative phase of what has become the most divisive political argument in decades.
The 19 bill package setting a $23-a-tonne price rising by 5 per cent for the following two years is expected to pass on a combination of Greens and Labor votes.
Continue reading "Gillard’s carbon victory more toxic than sweet" »
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MondStef says:
Julia Gillard is a liar. She didn’t just break a non-core promise (to quote former Prime Minsiter, John Howard) she broke her platform promise which I shall repeat just in case you have been living underneath a pile of Greeh dung “there will be no carbon tax in a government… Read more »
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RyaN says:
@Mr GG: I tell you what, how about we make a list of the journalists and we can discuss which are left and which are far left, I can name the right wing ones on my hand, the ones that haven’t been attacked, prosecuted and shut down already I mean. Read more »
The Australian Senate is currently debating the Government’s Clean Energy Future package and will shortly vote on these historic reforms.
Earlier this week, during debate on the legislation, I spoke about the unrivalled natural beauty of the Australian environment and landscape and of our profound relationship with the land on which we forge our lives.
We are a unique nation, and our identity stems from our landscape. We have developed our character through our values. We believe in mateship, we believe in backing the underdog and, importantly, we believe in a fair go.
Continue reading "Carbon pricing is about more than a warm, fuzzy feeling" »
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RyaN says:
@Steve Putnam: Regardless of your low class personal attacks, I will tell you what I want, the same thing that every other human on the earth deserves before being subjected to this. Just one peer reviewed paper that shows a definitive, unequivocal human marker in global warming, just one will… Read more »
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James III says:
Bet you drive a car with a ‘Baby on Board’ sign too. I can only hope you are genuine but a brainwashed fool, not a full blown liar, as those ‘stats’ you quote re “climate change” are utter garbage. Read more »
It’s probably a bit late in the show but this still needs to be said: IT IS NOT A BLOODY CARBON TAX.
I know what taxes are. I see them every day in too many manifestations. They are everywhere, but there is no trace of a tax on carbon in the 18 pieces of legislation which will be debated in Parliament from today.
Now, I have on rare occasions come across speeding fines - penalties designed to encourage me to drive at acceptable speeds. The “clean energy” legislation has what closely resembles a speeding fine, except in this case it is intended to encourage acceptable levels of carbon emissions.
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Karen Stephenson says:
And you can thank your mates in the media for that,the most dishonest and one sided media circus in Australians history.Time and time again you and others have allowed the Opposition and their media mouth pieces to hi jack one of the most important legislation put through Parliament in Australian… Read more »
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Geronimo's brother says:
The speeding analogy is probably the dumbest yet. By the same rationale Mal, “income tax” isn’t a tax at all. I only get taxed when I earn over a certain amount (like when I get fined for travelling over a certain limit). So it can’t be tax can it? And… Read more »
The exhaustion and anger that came with getting Mabo laws through Parliament nearly 18 years ago are set to be repeated with the carbon pricing legislation.
Maybe even magnified, establishing a new record for bitter, marathon debate.
We will see whether a new record will be set when the bills are introduced next month, but already the Government is drawing up strategies it hopes will see carbon pricing become law by the end of the year.
Continue reading "The real carbon fight is only just beginning" »
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Obob says:
How The Leftists/Warmists Prevent The AGW Scam From Being Exposed It’s easy to manufacture a consensus with that much money and power. Our means of determining truth has reverted to political authorities and their pet “scientists” declaring what is true, denying the evidence, and reviling the unbelievers. The trick is… Read more »
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The Claw says:
Bev - if you’re relying on “3 to 4 generations of improving efficient power generation”, I assume you’d be in favour of a modest levy on carbon emissions to fund research into such improvements. Say, something in the ballpark of $23 a tonne? A small levy like that, which would… Read more »
Australian politicians have spent more than 20 years thinking up reasons not to tackle climate change, but the latest from Tony Abbott really must take the cake.
According to the Opposition Leader, it now seems that until Communist China introduces a market-based mechanism to reduce their emissions, Australia shouldn’t either.
That should buy us some time then.
Continue reading "Abbott reads from Mao’s little green book of nonsense" »
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LC says:
@ Rick. OK. Here’s two examples of alarmists calling for censorship of people who don’t share their beliefs. And yes, let us put these people in the spotlight to try and show the public who they are REALLY dealing with. Read more »
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Mal says:
Minority Labor government forced to deal with independents and Greens (actually not a bad thing I would argue). Anybody would think that Honest John and every other prime ministerial predecessor had always kept their promises. Read more »
When Tony Abbott is scrambling for something new to say he can occasionally come up with pretty dubious statements. One outstanding example last week was his warning that the mining industry was fighting for survival.
This was a singular view of the fate of that billionaires’ collective. However, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come to Mr Abbott’s rescue. She is prepared to offer the calculators of Treasury so that the Opposition will no longer have to struggle to find something fresh to say.
Mr Abbott will be able to speak about his own, fully-costed policies.
Continue reading "Abbott’s been freewheelin’ with the truth" »
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Christian Real says:
Peter Like other loyal liberals supporters you are still in denial of the truth,but I suppose when you support a serial liar like Tony Abbott, (the lies) rubs of on you mob,and you become tarred with the same brush Read more »
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Christian Real says:
Tim B The only joke is you my friend, and your way out comments defending your beloved Liberal party, I don’t comment just in these blogs, at least i get out and about and make my opinions known also. I don’t complain about government, but I do something about it… Read more »
I’m going to go out on a limb here. I reckon Opposition Leader Tony Abbott would get the result he’s looking for if a vote on the carbon tax goes ahead.
As with Royal Commissions, you don’t start them unless you’re pretty sure of the outcome.
So it’s a mighty stunt he’s pulling, then, calling for a plebiscite on the carbon tax. It aims to solidify all the damage he’s already done to Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s cause, to drive the wedge deeper than mere polls can go.
Continue reading "Carbon tax vote: Democracy, but not as we know it" »
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Peter says:
Water-world of Carbon The science of global warming from man-made carbon basically an un-proven science with dire predictions of apocalyptic proportions. In 2000 the so called climate experts made a prediction that if Australia did not cut back on carbon emissions by the year 2005 there would be no more… Read more »
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SimonTigey says:
I am for the plebiscite, anything to highlight to Gillard that she does not have the community support she says she does. Her constant lies that people want a carbon tax is a complete joke. Lets face it $70 million is a drop in the ocean to the $100 million… Read more »
Who is Labor listening to when it comes to policy?
Senator John Faulkner last week blasted his party for setting its policies based on focus groups tapping public opinion, instead of heeding the voices of its own members. He warned that Labor risked losing a generation of supporters and voters if it did not listen to its inner voice and accept that internal debate was not disunity.
In that case, whose opinion is Labor heeding in persisting with its pursuit of a proposed carbon tax?
Continue reading "Carbon tax: Labor’s not listening to the people" »
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Chrissy says:
Research this, Termites, yes termites release more co2 into the atmosphere each year than us humans and all our industry. Humans contribute depending on your source anywhere between 3 to 15 percent of total yearly co2 emissions into the atmosphere. But NO more than 15%, the rest coming from termites,… Read more »
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Rosemary says:
A friend sent me this pearl! The Green Thing!! In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, “We didn’t have the ‘green thing’… Read more »
The Labor Government’s carbon pricing plans have come under fire again, with polls showing most Australians think they’ll be losing out - but does the Liberal Government have an alternative plan? Last night Q and A showed a clip of Opposition Leader Tony Abbott convincingly arguing that a carbon tax could work… Here, Amanda Rishworth casts her eye over Tony Abbott’s Direct Action Plan.
In recent weeks Tony Abbott has stepped up his hysterical tour of dry cleaning services, cereal factories, fish markets and even nappy factories to tout the potential increase in cost of living pressures under a carbon price. However, during these visits he pointedly avoids making any mention of his own climate change policy - a policy which Professor Ross Garnaut has said in his recent report will cost more and do less.
Tony Abbott continues to mount his fear campaign about the Government’s plan to price carbon in the Parliament, and yet you would be hard pressed to recall him ever mentioning his own plan.
Continue reading "Naysayer Abbott’s plan is no alternative" »
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George says:
There is a difference between SCIENTIFIC GLOBAL WARMING THEORY and ALARMIST GLOBAL WARMING THEORY. Global warming theory holds that certain atmospheric gases warm the earth. Unless other factors intervene, adding more of these gases will tend to warm the atmosphere. This is well accepted across the scientific community. Alarmist global… Read more »
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George says:
Politicians And Whitehall Mandarins Are Pandering To Global Warming Alarmists “We must stop pandering to climate scaremongers”. June 10 2011 Turnbull is always worth listening to on global warming, as we all know: Politicians and Whitehall mandarins are pandering to global warming ‘alarmists’ and consigning Britain to a future of… Read more »
So the left-wing apologists from Get Up and the ACTU are now imploring us to just “say yes” to Labor’s Carbon Tax.
They may as well have added “this won’t hurt a bit, honest” to their patronizing new advertisement.
I’ve often thought that the moral supremacists at Get Up occupied a very different Australia to the one in which I live.
Continue reading "A carbon price? Tell ‘em they’re dreaming" »
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DaveinPerth says:
@al - Ian Plimer? Is that the same Ian Plimer that earns $400,000 pa working as a shill for mining companies? Read more »
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al says:
That’s exactly what I was thinking. Folks, just read a book from prominent geologist in australia, Ian Plimer (Heaven and Earth) and you will see for yourself. There is more carbon in soil than the total amount of carbon in the atmosphere and living matter. The atmosphere contain only 0,001%… Read more »
Now we are means-testing people for the right to have an opinion in television commercials, it seems that only those who struggle with absolute penury can speak for Australians.
Everyone else is tainted by the bias of success and salaries.
Billionaires can’t complain about higher taxes on super-profits; screen stars can’t complain about pollution.
Continue reading "It’s a bit rich to gag the wealthy on carbon pricing" »
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Tom says:
Loxy, you still miss the point. ... perhaps deliberately, eh? ... a bit of sleazy “straw man” tactic straight out of the Labor Hawker Britton handbook? No Loxy, I never questioned her right to have an opinion. This is a democracy. However, the paunchy little fat man who works his… Read more »
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Cate P says:
Andrew Laming’s response nails it. Good on you Punch for publishing it with M Farr’s piece. Read more »
The climate change debate has never been hotter, with family groups outraged that Cate Blanchett (among others) has thrown her not-particularly-substantial weight behind carbon pricing. Here, the Australian Youth Climate Coalition’s Anna Rose talks about the need for urgent action.
Sixteen-year-old Alana volunteers with the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. When asked why, she tells the following story: “When I was 14 my brother was born. When I first saw him, I thought about his future and I almost couldn’t face it. I couldn’t bear to think about the world that he was going to grow up in to. So I decided to do something about it.”
Life is very different for young Australians today. Gone are the days when young people can plan our futures without factoring in an ominous shadow looming over our plans for our lives, careers and families. Not since the Cold War have young Australians faced a future so uncertain.
Continue reading "Climate change: Bugger Cate, we must ALL act" »
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Ron says:
More doom and gloom! I’m reminded of old Pprofessor Malthus and his assertion that we’d all have starved to death by this time due to population exceeding food supply. Read more »
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Ron says:
Non-scientists disbelieve all the andropogenic climate change theories mainly due to the obnoxious and aggressive manner of the true believers. They don’t understand the word ‘sceptic’. It merely means that we’re doubtful, not that we’re arguing any points of view. I’m reminded of Goebels’ methods of insisting everyone believed his… Read more »
Australia must act immediately on climate change or risk social, economic and environmental disaster, the Climate Commission’s first major report says. Here’s your quick and easy guide to the rest of the good news.
The report, The Critical Decade, reviews the latest climate science and says it unambiguously shows the climate is changing, and humans are “almost surely” the cause. It slams the sceptics, saying there is no debate within the scientific community on the reality of climate change.
It argues a carbon pricing mechanism is necessary to curb emissions and says we must act urgently or “we will struggle to maintain our present way of life”.
Continue reading "Climate change report: A busy person’s guide" »
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Billigflug Vergleich Thailand says:
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michael p says:
Im a sceptic and nothing here shows proof of global warming 1 how much has the temp risen 2 how much has the water risen 3 when can we expect to see results from the scientists SHOW ME THE NUMBERS AND THAN I WILL LISTEN show us all the numbers… Read more »
This week in federal politics might in later years be seen as decisive to the elevation of the next Prime Minister of Australia.
That’s because the Government will have to deal publicly and intensely with the two principal issues shaping its fate – border protection and carbon pricing.
The Opposition will launch a demand for a wide-ranging inquiry into the cost and administration of detention facilities and of asylum seeker management generally, starting with the no-holds-barred premise that the centres are now places of “havoc, chaos and riots”.
Continue reading "Will the next Australian PM please stand up?" »
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Richard says:
Fortunately… there are Liberal members who WILL vote for the carbon tax. Yes it’s a carbon tax to big industry to force them to change their practices… and to migrate the economy to renewable… solar, geothermal, wind, wave, hydrogen… that’s the shadow Abbott has at his back… Read more »
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RyaN says:
@Marilyn Shepherd: I don’t think that is the way the saying goes, but it does explain a lot. Read more »
Australia’s climate change policy debate is far from over. Earlier this month Kevin Rudd conceded it was a mistake to shelve the ETS, and yesterday Rio Tinto joined the fray, warning Australia not to go it alone on pricing emissions. At The Punch we realised we hadn’t heard much about the international experience, so we spoke to Scott Wyatt, Energy and Environment Advisor at the Delegation of the European Union, about how carbon pricing (they have an ETS) has gone in the EU.
Q. How does carbon pricing work in the EU? Is it similar to the proposed Australian system (what details we have!)?
A. There are differences in scheme design, but the principle is very much the same as (the cap and trade system) proposed under the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme White Paper.
Continue reading "Q & A: How does carbon pricing work in practice?" »
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Heléna says:
however so much will be spent in compensation and proposed exemptions, that little will be left for funding alternate energy sources, I would much rather money be paid in grants to energy suppliers who implement “green” technology and research into alternate energy Read more »
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WAH says:
The truth is a carbon tax is the most economically viable choice. Do you expect Australia to shut down it’s coal fired power plants? Yes it’s true the costs will be spread out to the consumers but I for one am proud to be part of a country that is… Read more »
On Monday, March 28, the Department of Climate Change offered a briefing on carbon pricing and business executives flew in from around the country to get longed-for insights.
They were ``peak stakeholders’’ from 45 companies and organisations in a liaison group plugged directly into the Government. This would be the big moment for a run-down on the carbon tax big picture for representatives of the biggest energy generators, retailers, and users.
It was a case of so many questions, so many points of interest, so few chairs.
Continue reading "Carbon pricing: We’re being treated like mushrooms" »
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Muzz says:
Are you supporting Abbot’s direct action plan then Davi? Read more »
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b says:
Banging my head against the wall Wow you dont know much. I dont think ANYONE would call the Coalition Socialist except for the ill-informed or naive Read more »
What will Labor come up with next? What grab bag of goodies will be used to distract voters from the futility and expense of Labor’s great big carbon tax?
What political stunts wait in store for us? It’s remarkable how Federal Labor are looking more and more like NSW Labor everyday – desperate, directionless and laughable.
Across the weekend we had Julia Gillard declaring tax cuts were now a “live option” after Labor’s economic guru Ross Garnaut helpfully intervened. Honestly, can she lead from any further behind on this issue?
Continue reading "Labor’s tax cuts just bread and circuses" »
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DaveinPerth says:
Sophie’s family must have been so proud of that photo of her standing next to Bronnie and Tony. Family values. It’s what the Libs are about. Read more »
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JRM says:
The tax on carbon will do everything. I reckon no more car crashes, and no more footy upsets. And will save the whale and stop earthquakes surely. It’s a great thing. Read more »
The health effects of radiation in the wake of Japan’s disaster are still unclear - see here or here for more information. But, closer to home, it is a good time to look at the health impacts of carbon, with Professor Ross Garnaut set to release his next carbon pricing update today at the National Press Club. David Shearman says the health of millions of people is affected by coal. UPDATE: Professor Garnaut told the National Press Club taxpayers will be better off under a carbon pricing scheme.
Coal has powered a welcome evolution of society, but as the ill-effects of burning coal have become increasingly apparent, so too it seems, has the temptation to neglect the real costs including the ill health conferred on millions.
This ill-health has remained an externality of coal combustion. Like the tobacco companies, Big Coal has not paid restitution for the human morbidity and mortality. Surely this must be re-examined when compensation for the forthcoming carbon tax is claimed by an industry which already receives government subsidies?
Continue reading "Big Coal: A burning economic and health issue" »
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Julia Gillard is engaged in the most prized foreign assignment for an Australian Prime Minister - the lavish hospitality of an American president in Washington.
But at home opinion polls are sending the much less hospitable message that Ms Gillard is Prime Minister in name only, that voters want her out of the job.
By any measure, an election right now would see Liberal Leader Tony Abbott replace her. Labor has hit a record low in its primary result in polling.
Continue reading "Gillard is now Prime Minister in name only" »
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jhan says:
When challenged Gillard always asserts she’s the ‘PM’. Like the question was silly. She’d give the same answer to the suggestion she’s PM only in name. Labor high rollers are blinded by their blinkers. Now in the form of footy and vegemite in the oval office, fawning before the President,… Read more »
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