Garnaut drops farmers in carbon tax quicksand
31st May, 2011
“PROFESSOR Ross Garnaut has dropped Australia’s farmers into a quagmire of fear and anxiety today as he laid out his plan to fully include agriculture in the carbon tax regime from as early as 2015,” Leader of The Nationals Warren Truss noted today.“The Gillard government’s chief climate change adviser appears unapologetic to Australian farmers who, for the best part of three years, have been led up the garden path on the promise that their direct emissions would be excluded under a carbon tax and any future emissions trading scheme.
“Now, putting the final touches to its carbon regime with the Greens and Independents, Labor’s soothing overtures have been cast aside and all bets are off.
“Farmers are now squarely in this government’s carbon tax sights.
“Prof Garnaut’s last paper, released today, makes a mockery of assurances spoon-fed to farm leaders that agriculture will be permanently excluded and that, instead, voluntary offset trading measures would be available.
“Instead, Prof Garnaut is now advising:
‘The proposed date for inclusion of New Zealand agriculture (2015) is a good time for a review of whether circumstances have changed enough for Australia to have full coverage of the land sector.’
Garnaut Climate Change Review Update, Australia in the Global Response to Climate Change Summary, 31 May 2011, Page 10.
“The paper also confirms farmers’ concerns that the Carbon Farming Initiative may be used as a Trojan horse to get bureaucrats through farm gates to develop measurement systems accurate enough to bring agriculture fully under a scheme.
‘The Independent Committee should undertake this review in 2015 and examine the barriers to full coverage of the land sectors in the emissions trading scheme. The review should examine experience in measuring and administering offsets for land-based emissions within the Carbon Farming Initiative.’
Garnaut Climate Change Review Update, Australia in the Global Response to Climate Change Summary, 31 May 2011, Page 35.
“It rounds out two bad news days on carbon tax for our farmers. Yesterday, new research from the Australian Farm Institute saw the National Farmers’ Federation break its shackles and firmly reject a carbon tax amid revelations grain growers in WA will cop a $36,000-a-year hit under a $36 per tonne tax.
“The irony is that Australia has one of the lowest carbon emitting farm systems on Earth and is the envy of the world for its sustainable, high quality and reliable production. To throw that out the window, only to see rising global food demand shift to higher polluting countries, makes no sense whatsoever.”
[ENDS]
