Focus on the 'carbon tax'

Well, PM Julia Gillard announced the details of her proposed 'carbon tax' on Sunday, 10 July 2011. Some commentators called it 'Carbon Sunday' - others called it 'Bob Brown Sunday'.
Watch her speech to the nation about the carbon tax - click here.
Read the transcript - click here.

Detailed overview:
For a detailed overview of the proposed carbon tax, read the information at the following link.
This is the agreed policy from the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee: click here.

There will be taxing of the top 500 'polluters' - well, those who emit the most carbon dioxide or CO2. They will pay $23 per tonne of CO2 emitted. The price will be fixed for three years, then it will move to a 'trading scheme' - similar to Europe's.
However, the price of CO2 in the European carbon trading scheme has collapsed in price three times - and there has been noted corruption. Last week, the Hartwell Group of international economists, historians and climate scientists warned Australia that this market-based approach to tackle global warming doesn't work. Mr Gwyn Prins, from the London School of Economics, told the ABC's 7.30 Report said that the European scheme hadn't reduced Europe's CO2 emissions and that there was corruption in the trading scheme.
Watch ABC's 7.30 Report interview. Read overview of interview.

Lower income households will be 'compensated' by way of a raising of the tax-free threshold.
Middle income families will be worse off.
Importantly, the Greens are noting that nothing is 'permanent' - petrol may be exempt now but that could change; the 'carbon price' will rise each year; compensation for 'trade-exposed industry' will be removed in just a few years... when that happens it will all cost a lot more.

Billions of dollars will be given to developing 'renewable energy'. There will be a huge bureaucracy set up to supervise this - costing $382 million.
In addition, Australians will be able to 'purchase carbon credits' overseas - at a cost of up to $3 billion a year!
How is that going to actually reduce Australian emissions'?
Read Barnaby Joyce's comment on that and the carbon tax - click here.

Meanwhile, Tony Abbott is promising to oppose the tax and repeal it when in government. He had a response televised at the same time as the PM's 'address to the nation'.
Watch his address to the nation in response: click here.
Read the transcript - click here.
Read the Coalition's press release, with an overview of the impact of the tax - click here.

But will all this pain and effort actually cool the planet?
In a word, NO!