Nationals Senator Fiona Nash today questioned the logic of an upfront compensation payment for Australians impacted by higher living costs because of the carbon tax.
The carbon tax legislation includes an initial one-off, up-front, lump sum payment before the carbon tax is introduced next July. This advance payment is designed to cover a period of up to 18 months, depending on the type of welfare payment a person is receiving.
It also includes a second ongoing payment, called the Clean Energy Supplement, starting in March 2013.
Senator Nash said in her speech opposing the carbon tax that the upfront lump sum payment isn’t practical.
“Does this government learn nothing? Let us go back to the $900 payment that went out from the government during the global financial crisis. What did we see then but a splash of activity, and the feedback coming from clubs and shops—for example, places selling plasma TVs—was that their profits went through the roof,” she said.
“Does the government really think that giving a one-off payment to tide people over for the next 18 months is really the smartest thing to do? Does it think that is a really clever way of dealing with compensation?
“While some may budget their payment for these purposes, others will undoubtedly be tempted to spend it quickly on unrelated or material items like entertainment goods, made in China which ironically is one of the biggest emitters.”
Senator Nash also again questioned the government’s ability to properly compensate Australians for higher living costs when the carbon tax moves to an emissions trading scheme in 2015.
“There will be no set price under an ETS, rather a fluctuating one based on trading activity. The government will have no control over the price so how can it ensure families and pensioners will be adequately compensated?” she said.
“We emit 1.4 per cent of the world's emissions but we are going to have this whacking great tax that will not change the climate one little bit.
“We are not scaremongering when we tell the Australian people exactly how this tax is going to hit their hip pocket. And by the very fact that the government’s put a compensation package in place, it has admitted that companies will pass the costs on.”
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