Nationals to oppose Labor’s CPRS tax
24th November, 2009
The Nationals will continue to oppose the Rudd Labor Government’s “tax on everything” Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.In spite of promised changes, the scheme is still a bad deal for the regions, bad for jobs and investment and bad for the environment.
“The final test for The Nationals has always been what Labor’s CPRS means for the regions and the people who live and work there,” Mr Truss said. “On that test alone, this proposal fails.
“If the scheme is supposed to improve the global environment, then this scheme is also a failure. If Australia is meant to be playing its part in a global response to climate change, then this scheme fails too. It will do nothing to change Australia’s temperature or lower our sea levels.
“Even with the changes, farmers will still be hurt by new costs on their inputs such as energy, fertiliser and chemicals. The coal industry will still face a $12 billion CPRS slug. Minerals exporters will wear new costs that their overseas competitors will not. The cloud over the prosperity and jobs of many regional people is still there. Electricity costs will rise by 22 percent in the first two years, with more to follow.
“Liberal negotiator Ian Macfarlane deserves considerable credit for negotiating concessions from the Government, and The Nationals will support those changes in the Parliament.
“But we have always said we were opposed to Labor’s CPRS, and that’s still our position.
“That is the solely the fault of the Rudd Labor Government. The Prime Minister and his offsiders have never explained how this scheme will work, resorting to spin, obfuscation and dense bureaucratic jargon to hide its enduring effects.
“Labor’s ETS is not in Australia’s interests. It has been developed to suit only the Rudd Government’s political interest.
“The Nationals are unapologetic about standing up to be counted on this issue,” Mr Truss said.
