The Member for Richmond, Justine Elliot, should listen to her electorate, and admit the carbon tax is toxic.
“Local people are telling Justine Elliott they don‟t want a carbon tax. You only have to look at what local small businesses, sugar mills, farmers, and tourism operators are saying to know that people in Richmond are saying „no‟ to Labor‟s carbon tax,” the Nationals North Coast Duty Senator, Fiona Nash, said.
"Businesses on the Northern Rivers are already doing it very tough and I don’t believe there are too many that could absorb another tax,” Northern NSW Business Chamber regional manager John Murray, said.“A carbon tax will flow through to all levels of the Northern Rivers business community. We do think it is a tax that will definitely hurt small to medium-sized businesses and that’s the bulk of businesses in the Northern Rivers region. Even the larger ones aren’t in a position to cope with it. It’s inescapable they must pass on the extra charges to consumers.” (Northern Star, 26 April 2011)
"The cost of diesel, by way of changes to the excise and rebate system, will mean a significant increase in our operational costs, especially transport. It will be a juggling act because we will have to put our sugar prices up and at the same time remain competitive from the point of view of imports," chief executive of New South Wales Sugar, Chris Connors, said. (ABC News North Coast, 11 July 2011)
The loss of Splendour in the Grass, declining domestic tourism numbers and the high Australian dollar are combining to deliver a “triple whammy” to Byron Bay’s struggling tourism market. Adding to the town’s woes are a weak retail sector Australia-wide and uncertainty about the impact of the carbon tax. (Northern Star, 2 August 2011)
“People in Richmond know that a carbon tax will further add to the everyday cost of living pressure through higher electricity prices, higher grocery costs, higher mortgage repayments, and higher tax margins for starters. And it‟s a tax that won‟t make the slightest bit of difference to the climate,” Senator Nash said.
Impacts of the carbon tax on the north coast include:
- The Australian Farm Institute estimates energy costs for NSW farmers will be $7691 higher under a carbon tax. Dairy farmers face a rise in energy costs of $7000 and the loss of up to 7.8 per cent of annual income because of the carbon tax.
- An average abattoir processing 3000 cattle a week will see its electricity bill increased by a quarter of a million dollars in the first year. This is without considering other cost increases and the impacts of gas which will also rise by 9 per cent.
- Motorists may be spared a carbon tax on petrol for now, but there‟s no guarantee a carbon tax won‟t apply to petrol in the future.
- Households and small business will still be hit by higher fuel prices because petrol stations use electricity, as do refineries, and fuel transport companies will soon be slogged with a hit on diesel. These higher costs will lead to higher prices at the petrol pump.
- The transport sector will be hit by the carbon tax in 2014, further pushing the costs up.
- Regional airlines may have to cut routes or cease flying as a result of the carbon tax, and passengers on major carriers face average domestic fare increases of $6 to $7 for a return trip.
- Aviation industry officials warned that emergency and agricultural aviation services would also be slugged by the tax, which is set to boost the excise on aviation fuels by between 250 and 300 per cent in the first three years.
- A Tourism and Transport Forum report says 6,400 jobs would go in the tourism industry predominately in regional and rural Australia and that a carbon tax would have an impact on our tourism economy of more than $600 million.
- The carbon tax of $23 per tonne will add at least $5,000 to the cost of building an average new home. This includes the cost of construction and developing the land.
- Those self funded retirees who do not hold a Commonwealth Seniors Health Card will miss out on any carbon tax compensation. This means about 285,000 self-funded retirees will not receive compensation.
- Childcare centres have next to no capacity to reduce their existing energy consumption and will face a 10 per cent hike in electricity bills and a 9 per cent hike in gas bills in the first year alone.
- Calculations suggest both government and non-government schools alone could be facing an additional cost impost of around $200 million, just for gas and electricity price increases due to the carbon tax, over four years.
- Access Economics has predicted 28,000 jobs would be lost in regional Australia – but that is only the beginning.
- Economist Andrew Stoeckel, Australian National University, is warning the Government‟s carbon tax model could send production overseas, for little environmental gain.
“Labor members were told by the Prime Minister to go out and sell the tax. The Member for Richmond should just face reality and tell the Prime Minister the carbon tax is toxic and should be dumped,” Senator Nash said.
“It‟s her job to put the interests of those in her electorate first.”
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