Carbon: marching in unison makes the most sense
letter published in The Australian, 18 April 2011
IT is not surprising that unions have expressed concern at possible job losses under a carbon tax ("Unions join industry in carbon war", 16-17/4).
While Climate Change minister Greg Combet told the press club (13/4) that Australia is not acting alone in setting a carbon price, he failed to acknowledge that no major emitter has a carbon tax, that those who do have one apparently apply it to limited products and that France and the European Union abandoned their proposals for such a tax.
The EU's announcement last week of a new carbon tax plan applies to only limited products and, if not vetoed, will be phased in by 2023.
Unless exemptions and/or compensation are provided to Australian businesses the government's carbon tax will cause job and business losses.
The sensible alternative would be to wait until action to reduce emissions is agreed internationally.
Des Moore, Institute for Private Enterprise, South Yarra, Vic