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The debate is dishonest all round because somehow a universal doctrine was established in Australian politics that the voter craves mothering and protection from the truth. A tax designed to induce behavioural change has to be felt or there will be no change. Why is it assumed that an elected government has no right to tax its citizens for what it believes are worthwhile causes? If your name is not Joyce or Abbott and you do believe that climate change is occurring then putting a price on carbon is not “adding an entirely new cost to domestic producers”, it’s just bringing an existing cost to account. Recognising an externality and corrective taxation is not an abnormal government policy.
Incidentally the will be no Carbon tax on exports while there is no carbon tax globally…..which puts some of the fears to rest about overseas buyers going somewhere else because of an increase in price.
having said all that .....I still don’t quite understand the part about giving the biggest polluters a shit load of compensation, just because the public kicked up a stink about the tax. And I’m still sceptical that this idea isn’t just a smokescreen for business as usual, thought up by economists… the same ones that were so confident in their predictions but for the most part didn’t see the GFC coming.
The biggest polluters aren’t the steel and mining companies!!!!!
The biggest polluters are us, the public consumer that demands the lifestyle that these industries produce!!!!!
Oh yeah, a government is also voted in by the people to represent the people!!!!! Not to dictate to the people!!!!!