Scare campaigns cause carbon tax ambiguity
Wed 01 June 2011
Shelly Stone, Bachelor of Journalism
Scare campaigns employed by Tony Abbott and the Federal opposition have been successful in denouncing the Government’s proposed carbon tax, and are responsible for Sunshine Coast’s adversity towards the tax.
Australia Conservation Foundation (ACF) media advisor Josh Meadows said many business owners’ anguish towards the carbon tax had been caused by the outrageous scare campaigns led by the opposition.
Mr Meadows said these scare campaigns were a result of pressure from Australia’s 1000 biggest polluting companies, which will ultimately pay Labor’s carbon tax, and not small businesses.
Mr Meadows said fears of massive taxes and job losses held by small business owners were unfounded, and were fueled by a lack of understanding about the tax itself.
However, at a meeting on May 13, 2011, in Noosa, Queensland Chamber of Industry and Commerce (QCIC) president David Goodwin said the tax would hit communities harder than they expect.
“Noosa may not have big manufacturers here, or a big steel industry so you may think you’re not going to be affected,” Mr Goodwinc said.
“The fact of the matter is that you will probably be affected even before the communities that are built around those industries,” Mr Goodwin said.
Mr Meadows believed it was in the interest of the Sunshine Coast residents, and of all Queensland, to get behind the carbon tax and support a price on pollution.
“Australia is right in the firing-line [of climate change], Queensland more than most states, and we can expect bigger floods and more intense cyclones as a result,” Mr Meadows said.
“These fears are based on scare campaigns and not on legitimate facts.
“Any big changes we make will have to be made at big business level in order to make the change, but we can definitely do it."
Mr Meadow could also confirm that campaigns proclaiming massive job losses were a gross exaggeration, and said that there was much to gain from this tax, including an entire industry built around renewable and environmentally sustainable energy.
“Australia has the best renewable energy resources on the planet,” Mr Meadow said.
“We have hot rock, solar, wind, and we’re well positioned to make this change.”
ACF said there were big incentives for adopting a price for carbon.
Details were published on its website, free for the public to muse over, including an interactive map of jobs growths in their area, thanks to renewable energy solutions.
Australian Workers Union (AWU) national secretary Paul Howes empathised with Australians' lack of understanding for Julia Gillard’s carbon tax, and compared the ambiguity around the tax to US President Barack Obama’s birth location confusion.
In an opinion piece for the Sunday Telegraph on May 1, 2011, Mr Howes said a carbon tax was only as scary as it seemed because of its name, and the fact that people did not understand what the tax actually entailed.
Mr Howes said he is “keen to see the details” regarding the new tax.
Along with the ACF, the AWU and Mr Howes believed the campaigns led by the opposition were blatant scare campaigns, designed to pull votes.
“As long as we can vigorously protect Australian industry – and we can – Australia should lead the way in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cleaning up the environment,” Mr Howes said.
“There’s no reason why we can’t punch a little above our weight on such an important issue. After all, that’s what Australians do best, we lead.
“Meanwhile, Tony Abbott is running around as though the sky is falling.
“Every time there’s a new thing, like a big ‘new’ tax, like the GST, people feel worried.”
Gutteridge Haskins and Davey cadet civil engineer Verity Mills is one of the people scared of the carbon tax.
Ms Mills admitted that she did not know what the carbon tax entailed, or what it meant for her.
“When I first heard of the carbon tax, I automatically assumed I would paying more money, and I was worried,” Ms Mills said.
“I pay enough tax as it is, but there isn’t anyone out there telling me otherwise.
“The Government hasn’t done a good enough job telling people what it is, and if they want people to embrace it, they’ll need to explain it better.”
Image(s) designed by Shelly Stone
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Submitted Comments
A very interesting article as it a current issue for Australian citizens.
Anusha Kivi Nayar