Tuesday 26 February 2013

Hockey backtracks on carbon tax compensation

An extract from the ABC website:
26/02/13


Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has described the Coalition's plan to cut carbon pollution as a "farce", after Liberal frontbencher Joe Hockey was forced to issue a clarifying statement about the policy.
Mr Hockey yesterday suggested the Coalition would provide compensation to businesses that are negatively affected by the scrapping of the carbon tax under a future Coalition government.
"We will consider it on a case-by-case basis, and we have allocated funds under our direct action plan to deal with initiatives that are underway," he told reporters in Launceston.
However, there is no provision in the direct action policy for compensation.
Late yesterday Mr Hockey issued a statement backtracking from his original comments.
"The Coalition will not be paying compensation for repeal of the carbon tax," the statement said.
Mr Combet says Mr Hockey has made a "goose" of himself by contradicting the Coalition's policy.
"The Liberal Party's policy on climate change is a joke, it's a farce, it's a subsidies-for-polluters proposition," he told reporters in Adelaide.
"The fact of the matter is also that many companies are investing [and] are creating jobs as a consequence of the carbon price coming in, because it's supporting investment in renewable energy.
"Make no mistake about it, the carbon price is creating jobs."
Mr Combet warned that if the carbon tax was scrapped by the Coalition, investment in renewable energy would dry up and job opportunities would go.
Asked this morning whether companies which have benefited from the carbon tax would be offered compensation, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott told ABC radio: "There are some businesses that are taking advantage of the carbon tax and there's nothing wrong with that.
"The tax arrangements that particular governments put in place are often made the most of by business.
"But instead of a carbon tax, we're going to have some incentives available for our emissions reduction fund and businesses that are contributing to reducing emissions can certainly apply to the emissions reduction fund to benefit from that."

 

'Astronomical'

Businesses like Hydro Tasmania have become more profitable under the carbon tax because they generate carbon-free electricity.
Greens leader Christine Milne says any plan to offer compensation to such businesses would leave the Government with an "astronomical" bill.
"For Joe Hockey to suggest the Coalition would compensate companies for lost income and stranded assets resulting from a repeal of carbon pricing is laughable," Senator Milne said in a statement.
"It shows he has little comprehension of the way market-based policies actually work.
"How is it that when in Tasmania, where the Hydro earns $70 million a year thanks to the clean energy package, Joe Hockey is keen on compensation, but once he leaves the state the backflip comes into play?"
Tasmania's Deputy Premier, Bryan Green, says the extra money flowing to Hydro is providing a "significant boost" to the state budget, helping to pay for things like hospitals, schools and police.

 

Penalties or no penalties?

Speaking to reporters in Rockhampton later today, Mr Abbott said Mr Hockey was clearly referring to plans for an emissions reduction fund that would provide incentives to businesses to cut carbon pollution.
"We believe in incentives. We don't believe in penalties," he said.
However, the direct action policy document states: "Businesses that undertake activity with an emissions level above their business-as-usual levels will incur a financial penalty.
"The value of penalties will be on a sliding scale at levels commensurate with the size of the business and the extent to which they exceed their business-as-usual levels."
Mr Combet says the Opposition Leader's comments are further evidence the policy is a "shambles".
The Coalition's policy says the value of penalties will be set in consultation with the industry, but are only expected to be applied in "exceptional circumstances" given that "economic growth projections... have been built into business-as-usual emissions estimates".

No comments:

Post a Comment