The Rudd Government is being told to scrap its proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS) due to volatile economic conditions. The Opposition
The Rudd Government is being told to scrap its proposed emissions trading scheme (ETS) due to volatile economic conditions.
The Opposition says the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme must not go ahead because the model was developed before the onset of the global financial crisis.
With Australia officially teetering on the verge of recession, opposition spokesman on transport Warren Truss has labelled an ETS a “rabid dog that will cause havoc”.
“The Treasury modelling which forms the basis of the Government’s claims about the impact of an emissions trading scheme is so out of date it should be junked,” Truss says.
Referring to Treasury figures, Truss says the modelling was developed on the prediction the global economy would grow by 3 percent and continue to grow by at least 2.5 percent over the next two years.
The world economy is now predicted to contract by half a percent this year, while the Government intends on introducing emissions trading next year.
But according to Truss, any move to push ahead with the scheme will accelerate job losses and lead to a decline in business investment.
“Quite simply, the existing Rudd ETS is a rabid dog that will cause havoc wherever it goes. It should be put down and given a quiet burial,” Truss says.
If introduced, the scheme will apply to the transport sector. Trucking operators, however, will be given a short-term reprieve after the Government decided to effectively freeze the fuel excise for one year. Until 2011, the price of fuel will be cut by one cent for every one cent rise due to emissions trading.
Trucking companies will also be spared from having to purchase emissions trading permits, with the responsibility falling to fuel companies.