I don’t see why we need to go down the ETS road, since all it does is lower the standard of living as people are forced too choose between power and food. Per country Australia's levels of pollution is quite low. Sure we don’t have the numbers of people other countries have so per capita our level might be high. but never the less we should not be selling our self’s short due to other countries over population problems. After all we do not get a say in governing them. But what we could do is hold them accountable. Countries like China and India have the highest pollution in the world. Australia is in a position to take advantage of these nations to clean up our own act and also increase our own manufacturing.
What we need too do is start charging a pollution tax on all imported product. This will make 'Australian Made' product more completive and all money made from the tax could then go toward creating a cleaner industry.

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That’s the thing most people do not realise, many of them still do apply tariffs. China for one is a country that charges an internal tax on imported products that has the same affect as a tariff. Its not like our product export market will be affected because just about everything is imported mostly from china, we are even importing food that we don’t need that we produce more then enough for our self’s.
So if China was to apply another tariff on Australian product because we introduced a pollution tax we could easily wack a pollution tax and a tariff. I'm sure china will be more effected then us. And china will still be needing resources.
But I do not see a problem is all countries in the world implemented a pollution tax on imported products as its quite stupid for a country to source a product from other nations when they can produce these products them self’s.

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Voting for the greens and supporting a price on carbon is not the same thing. Labor supports the principle, they just made it too complicated in practice. The opposition leader for a while supported carbon taxes. The majority of economists support it. It is hardly a fringe movement.

I think a Carbon tax is a real possibility if we see a Gillard led minority government.

I think they would ditch the stupidly convoluted ETS that cost them so dearly, and with input from the Greens, and the Independents, they may get a small Carbon Tax in place, as well as a strong renewable energy policy, and if they could do that, then we will all be the better off for it.

If we see an Abbot and Independents minority, I can only imagine that he would sidetrack any moves toward Carbon Pricing and Renewables, as he really does believe they are unnecessary, and doesn't care that the majority of aussies, and the world's scientists disagree with that opinion.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Aug 23^rd, 2010 at 9:27am:


Maybe you should keep track with your mates in the USA and what they are doing. Your politics is more in line with the US Republicans than the Australian Liberals, Sprint.

http://politifi.com/news/Republican-lawmakers-back-carbon-tax-yes-thats-right-87...

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mozzaok wrote on Aug 23^rd, 2010 at 9:17am:


I would expect them to come up with some scheme involving paying farmers large sums of money to do very little.

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I doubt that. Turnbull and a few others would cross the floor. Whatever gets in, we will be stuck with it.