It seems that everyone except Professor Garnaut knows that the PM Gillard's "Price on Carbon" is a "Tax on Carbon Dioxide". The more she denies this fact, the less we trust anything she says.
Her "carbon tax" is so unpopular that she is now proposing its early replacement by Emissions Trading Scheme Mark 2.
There are two essential elements to an emissions trading scheme.
First, the tonnage of carbon dioxide produced will be rationed by law – so it is back to the old war-time ration cards. No one can produce harmless carbon dioxide without having a ration card.
But unlike the old ration cards which were provided free, these carbon ration permits will be sold by the government. They act exactly like a tax on production – just another underhand tax on carbon dioxide.
These permits to emit hot air can be traded. They will become profitable playthings for bankers and speculators. Europe has shown that fraudsters flourish and permit prices vary wildly.
Imagine producers seeking investment certainty in an Emissions Trading Casino.
A simple fixed tax is far better than a complex variable tax.
But the best Carbon Tax result is for Parliament to vote "None of the Above".
Viv Forbes, Chairman, The Carbon Sense Coalition, has spent his life working in exploration, mining, farming, infrastructure, financial analysis and political commentary. He has worked for government departments, private companies and now works as a private contractor and farmer.
Viv has also been a guest writer for the Asian Wall Street Journal, Business Queensland and mining newspapers. He was awarded the “Australian Adam Smith Award for Services to the Free Society” in 1988, and has written widely on political, technical and economic subjects.
