Tamworth’s Robert Wood doesn’t agree with a recent letter from Dr Robin Gunning.
I wish to respond to the emotional drivel by Dr Robin Gunning in The NDL, regarding her “avoid hysteria about carbon price – stick with the facts” letter. If only!
Promoting oneself by grandiose rhetoric, such as: “As a Tamworth resident who cares about the future of our children and grandchildren, I welcome the price on carbon pollution! I also congratulate our federal member of Parliament, Mr Tony Windsor, for his role in achieving it”. Merely lauding a plan to decimate the Australian economy with a policy that will achieve nothing whatever to change the climate one way or the other is downright stupid.
Fact 1: By 2050 Australia, in the best scenario by Labor and Co (Tony Windsor et al) under this carbon pricing scheme, will actually be producing 6 per cent more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than it does now. Or, ‘more pain, and no gain’.
Fact 2: Carbon dioxide is not “pollution”. It is a naturally occurring element in our atmosphere and is vital for our and our planets survival. We actually produce little of it. To reiterate, it occurs naturally.
Fact 3: Regarding, “The ‘big polluters will pay’”. In what universe will that occur? Prices will be passed on. That is how economies operate. Punishing companies, causing them to buy ‘carbon credits’ overseas, is just causing Australia to borrow money overseas and pay the interest. Its like (actually it’s the same as) robbing a bank (the people of Australia) and sending the money overseas to freeloaders. Only the harebrained Labor and The Greens and Tony Windsor, could come up with such a ridiculously dangerous scheme.
Fact 4: Carbon dioxide is not “the most extreme contaminant in our atmosphere”. Ever been around a smoker, Dr Gunning,? That’s dangerous pollution (carcinogenic); or sniffing petrol or inhaling diesel fumes or methane gas – all highly toxic gases. But no we’re not going to carbon tax any on them. (yes, we tax cigarettes – but not the fumes). Carbon dioxide is an extremely vital part of nature. Trees love it, indeed they need it to survive. Indeed, Dr Gunning, so do we.
Fact 5: Regarding, “Until now, businesses have been free to fill our environment with pollution”. Since when? We do have environmental laws, Dr Gunning, or haven’t you noticed.
Fact 6: The ‘carbon tax’ is not a “tax incentive”. Iit is a reverse tariff – that is, taxing Australian industry – making it more difficult to sell our goods overseas; causing our balance of trade to worsen. Or, to put it another way – causing us to ‘sell the farm’, because we do have to pay.
Fact 7: Regarding, “It is completely false to suggest pricing pollution is designed to tax us as individuals”. Try “designed” to cause prices to rise dramatically because of this stupid tax, and we will only be compensated by a maximum of 60 per cent – that’s in Labor’s statement. Note the ‘compensation ads’ don’t say ‘fully’ compensated, just “help” – sure 60 per cent helps, but we wouldn’t take just 60 per cent of our weekly wages and give the rest back to the boss to spend overseas, or on other harebrained schemes. But Labor and Co, think that’s a great idea.
So the jargon by Dr Gunning that “average weekly household spending will go up around $9.90, including $3.30 a week on the average electricity bill and $1.50 a week on the average gas bill”, is just that. Try an 18 per cent increase in electricity charges from July 1, caused ‘directly’ by the carbon tax. That’s the carbon price compensation wiped out already.
Labor doesn’t include the ‘fact’ that punishing industry into upgrading facilities, to dance to this stupid tune, as part of figuring for compensation. But we have to pay for it.
This is compensation wipe-out, before any of the other increases in the cost of living – like good old food – caused by it are added. And petrol hasn’t been carbon priced taxed yet. But Labor states it soon will be.
So expect another whopping imposte on driving the family car.
And Dr Gunning says. “What is there to complain about that?” Like, how about everything!
Fact 8: Regarding distortions too numerous to mention. “More than 30 countries around the world already successfully operate with carbon pollution pricing laws”. The European block, which has a pricing carbon dioxide scheme (not “pollution”) of roughly a quarter of Australia’s, is in deep recession
and turmoil. I would call that disasterous, not successful.
And the bigger joke is, Australia’s price on carbon is set to rise every year until the Australian floor price is $15 a tonne. Even this ‘floor price’ is way higher than anywhere else in the world. Or in other words ‘Australia’s has devised a reverse tariff’ carbon pricing scheme.
Its ultimate aim appears to be only to drive Australia into recession.