Carbon tax fears are curtailing growth


UNCERTAINTY is prompting people to "keep their money in their wallets", Treasurer Jack Snelling has told business leaders.

Mr Snelling says there is uncertainty over the nation's leadership and a lack of understanding about how the carbon tax will affect household budgets.

While quick to state his Government's support for a price on carbon, Mr Snelling told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia breakfast in Adelaide yesterday any reform of that scale "creates uncertainty".

"Australian households, they don't know what it's really going to mean for them, they don't know what it's going to mean for their utility bills, they don't know what it's going to mean for their household budgets," Mr Snelling said.

"So with all that uncertainty, of course, again, they're not going to go out and commit to a large financial transaction."

Mr Snelling also named "federal political uncertainty" as a factor holding back spending, adding: "Any retailer will tell you that when a federal election is called, people keep their money in their wallets, they don't go out and spend. We have essentially been in federal political election mode for the past 18 months with the hung parliament."

Business SA chief Peter Vaughan believed the full impact of the carbon tax "remains to be seen".

He said: "The only certainty ... is that prices are going to go up and business competitiveness will take a major hit."

Restaurant and Catering SA chief executive Sally Neville said the carbon tax was a "real question mark" for business and consumers.

"They don't know what everything's going to cost after July, quite frankly," she said. "That will only become clear as we move through the second half of the year."

Opposition treasury spokesman Iain Evans said Mr Snelling's comments showed the practical impact of the carbon tax had not been explained well enough by the Commonwealth.

"What he's really saying is that he is suffering because the public don't understand their federal counterpart's policies," he said.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/ipad/carbon-tax-fears-are-curtailing-growth/story-...


Figure 1:  Approximate costs of climate action (green) and inaction (red) in 2100 and 2200. Sources: German Institute for Economic Research and Watkiss et al. 2005

Haha Abbott is attempting to undermine anything and everything he can.

SOB

Interesting how Abbott is supposedly dragging the economy down, I didnt realise he had more power than the 70 odd ALP members talking it up.

Powerful man that OPPOSITION leader Tony.

Or maybe the fact Europe is on the brink of collapse and the ASX has tumbled in the last month has a LOT MORE to do with it.

FriYAY wrote on Jun 6^th, 2012 at 10:13am:


I doubt you are that stupid so you are pretending. the article is about abbotts fear campaign on the carbon tax. You have been picking @ me in several threads now.This is the first time that you have even been anywhere near the topic with it. Got a headache maybe? Take a bex.

SOB

Sir Spot of Borg wrote on Jun 6^th, 2012 at 10:35am:


Mr Snelling says there is uncertainty over the nation's leadership and a lack of understanding about how the carbon tax will affect household budgets.
>
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any reform of that scale "creates uncertainty".
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>
"Australian households, they don't know what it's really going to mean for them, they don't know what it's going to mean for their utility bills, they don't know what it's going to mean for their household budgets," Mr Snelling said.
>
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"federal political uncertainty" as a factor holding back spending,
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Business SA chief Peter Vaughan believed the full impact of the carbon tax "remains to be seen".

He said: "The only certainty ... is that prices are going to go up and business competitiveness will take a major hit."
>
>
Restaurant and Catering SA chief executive Sally Neville said the carbon tax was a "real question mark" for business and consumers.

>>>>>

All understandable.

And all opinions can be reached with out one comment from Abbott.

so it has finally twigged to Snelling that we are 'in election mode'??? that ALWAYS happens with unstable minority govts. And that is because we are only one death/resignation/cross the floor away from an election. No surprise here.