The Federal Government has announced that petrol is to be granted a reprieve from the impending emissions trading scheme, and won’t be affected by it for three years after it kicks off. The news should certainly come as a relief to motorists worried that emissions trading would drive the cost of fuel up.
The introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme has already been deferred to 2011 (it was meant to begin next year), so having petrol exempt from the scheme until 2014 buys Aussie motorists some additional breathing space.
But is it the right thing to do? Implementing a carbon tax on fuel sooner rather than later would certainly be an unpopular decision, but if the government is to hit its ambitious target of a 25 percent reduction in overall carbon emissions by 2020, some hard decisions would surely have to be made.
While it doesn’t account for the majority of this country’s greenhouse gas production, the transport sector still produces around 13.5 percent of Australia’s total carbon output - that’s 76 million tonnes of the stuff.
Diesel produces more carbon dioxide per litre than petrol, but at this stage it appears that it will be largely insulated from price rises by the government’s cent-for-cent tax adjustment, which will counter rises in the cost of fuel by lowering the excise by the same amount. LPG will be protected by the adjustment too, which will also last until 2014.
There were also fears that the treasury would seek to raise the excise on fuel to help generate additional revenue, but after last night’s budget was announced it appears this isn’t to be the case.
So, it appears Australian motorists will be free to enjoy their present level of fuel consumption without penalty. Will our reluctance to change our habits deliver yet another sucker-punch to Mother Nature when she’s at her most vulnerable, or is the need to preserve our bank balances simply more important in these dark economic times?
The answer, at this stage, is largely academic. Fuel prices won’t have any more taxes slapped on them for the next five years, so you may as well fill ‘er up.
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So… how about they help offer us viable alternatives? Public transport ranges from decent to absolutely rubbish depending on where you live, hybrids are expensive for their size, most people would prefer not to fit their kids into the cargo space of a bike/scooter…
Viable alternatives?? Why on earth would the government do anything to solve that? Carbon Trading hasnt worked overseas, and yet we’re going to have it here. What Carbon Trading means for Australians:
1. Jobs lost as the Australian refineries cannot afford to buy credits and forced to import fuels
2. National security weakend, as Australia is forced to import fuels from Singapore and India
3. Quality of fuels will drop dramatically
4. Eventually everyone pays more for fuel, and yet we still have to drive to work as the public transport system is total rubbish and totally inadequate
5. Carbon levels stay the same (as per the EU test) resulting in a complete waste of time, lost jobs, more expensive and poor quality fuels.
Thanks Mr KRUDD
Quote” So, it appears Australian motorists will be free to enjoy their present level of fuel consumption without penalty. Will our reluctance to change our habits deliver yet another sucker-punch to Mother Nature when she’s at her most vulnerable, or is the need to preserve our bank balances simply more important in these dark economic times?”
WTF?? Tony O, mate you’re totally f***** in the head mate. Its been proven that Carbon Trading doesnt change our habbits. How about you show me where the public transport system works?? I bet you a 50 that you cant. POS article, and I think you better read that Carbon Trading white paper and understand exactly how this will affect every day Australians…..
Wardski, you’re free to express your opinion here, but you (and every other commenter for that matter) MUST keep it civilised. Profanity (no matter how ‘cleverly’ you disguise it to get around our filters) will not be tolerated.
Carbon trading is always going to be a hot-button topic, and we know we’ll get a diverse range of views from our readers. We won’t censor a reader’s opinion, but if you want others to see you as being a reasoned, educated individual, then present your argument in a reasoned and educated manner.
Regarding public transport, show me where I mentioned it in the article? I bet you a 50 you can’t.
Are comments #2 and #3 written by the same person? The first one is a reasonable argument about why we shouldn’t have an emissions scheme (which I 100% agree with, by the way), while the second one is pretty crazy. Do we have an Australian version of Jekyll and Hyde?