Category: Carbon Tax

Two months ago, Mr O’Connor became one of only 14 farmers in Australia to be issued with verified carbon credits that can be sold on international markets. In the next few weeks, he expects to sell more than 30,000 carbon offset credits, or units, generated on his historic property, Connorville, to global companies looking to offset their greenhouse gas emissions.

At the current market rate of an average $15 for every carbon offset credit sold – equivalent to one tonne of emissions saved by not logging his forests and turning them into woodchips, paper or processed timber – it is a welcome cash injection of more than $400,000 annually.

Good on him but how is that sustainable?

Gillard and Swan are desperately trying to divert attention away from their Carbon Tax. I can see their logic – they know that costs will rise but if they start talking now about businesses ‘just simply ripping people off’ then maybe the voters will think the businesses are the bad guys.

Ms Gillard said any shops already claiming prices would have to rise by 10-15 per cent were “just simply ripping people off”, because overall price rises would rise less than 1 per cent and not before next July.

Wayne parrots the same line;

Treasurer Wayne Swan said companies making misleading claims or gouging customers could face fines up to $1.1 million. “The vast majority of businesses will do the right thing, but those businesses that don’t will face the full force of the law and heavy fines,” he said.

All this in the total absence of any suggestions that businesses are ‘price-gouging’ And just in case, the ALP have worked out how to throw another mob of dollars at another problem that doesn’t exist yet. The Competition and Consumer Commission has been given $12.8 million to monitor prices. It will employ an extra 20 carbon cops, (what! for 12.8m) and consumers who suspect a shop of price-gouging have been urged to call the ACCC hotline, 1300 302 502. I need to phone that number now and complain about power and water utilities in Queensland price-gouging due to ALP/Greens initiated cost increases.

Whats wrong with this statement by Julia Gillard?

….Well, the effect is that in the shops when you come to buy things, products that are made with relatively less carbon pollution will be cheaper than products that are made with more carbon pollution. So you’re standing there with your household assistance in your hand. You could still keep buying the high-carbon pollution products if you want to, or what you’re far more likely to do is to buy the cheaper, lower-carbon pollution products. That means that the people who make those things will get the consumer signal: gee, we will sell more, we will make more money if we make lower-pollution products. That drives the innovation. So I want you to have that household assistance in your hand but I also want you to see price effects which make cleaner, greener things cheaper than high-pollution commodities. That’s why it works.”

Honey, this is why it doesn’t work It only considers Australia in isolation and ignores the world economy. In Julia’s shop you could be confronted with goods made by a high-polluter and goods made by a low polluter and just when you remember Julia’s words and reach for the cheaper low-pollution made product you notice the same product along side made in China for half the price again! Oops! Julia forgot to tell the Chinese to apply a carbon tax to goods they export to Australia. Secondly; What source of power does the politically correct Low-Polluter manufacturer use? Solar Power? I hope not because if he does he will have supply line problem only being able to manufacture on hot sunny days. This leaves the shopper faced with the high-polution product, now dearer because of Julia’s Carbon tax, the empty bin of the low-polluter or the one made in China – still cheaper. Oh, and exactly what household assistance would I have left in my hand. With domestic power rates soaring from this and other Green ventures, water dearer because ALP governments traded dams for Greenie votes and built billion dollar desalination plants instead, and a host of other price increases that this tax will produce I will be so out of pocket I will need to be reincarnated as a 30 year old to start earning more money again. Failing that, has anybody got a job for an old digger? My fixed income superannuation won’t cut it.

Wayne Swan gilding the Lilly Mr Swan said he knew self-funded retirees have had a tough time in the past few years. ”The retirees I chat to in my local community are really concerned about protecting our unique environment for their grandkids, and that means cutting carbon pollution,” he said. ”So the Gillard government’s financial help will mean retirees can do their bit to tackle climate change, while still looking after their budgets.” Bullshit Wayne! About half of your electorate, myself including, don’t even want you as their member – you only got in on Green preferences and since then there has been a 3% swing against you. The self funded retirees in Lilley that I talk to want you and your silly tax churn out of their lives. You are a dead man walking. So the tax that will not fix the problem but will cost us more just to live will raise fuel by 6 cents a litre and all us self-funded retirees are going to be compensated by up to $760 a year for couples to help. But I bet that figure is to compensate us for all the increased costs that the non-problem saving tax will give us – not just fuel. As soon as power companies are slugged for their products every thing will rise, not just fuel. What isn’t manufactured using electricity? You are waffling Wayne and even your local rusted-on Lilly voters have an uneasy feeling in their gut about what you and the ALP are doing. The rest of us in Lilley, the majority, just want you gone. You need to get out more and talk to a broader sample around town while you have the chance.