Australian Carbon Tax, toward an ETS .. On hopping into the car earlier, Ross Garnaut, was speaking at Australia's National Press Club .. great speech .. he made an indirect reference to the Republicans .. that they were forcing President Obama to take a more expensive path down the road to making the world a safer place for grandchildren of today .. (not his words) ..
He said the US was being forced by the House of Representatives to take a more expensive path to cutting carbon by government regulation rather by a market mechanism aroach ..
.. think of it .. anti-market approach .. more regulation .. more expensive so worse for deficit .. all contrary to Republican and Tea Party philosophy .. Professor Ross Garnaut .. Recent Speaker .. Economist .. March 17, 2011
Launch of Update Paper 6 – Carbon pricing and reducing Australia's emissions
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Launch of Update Paper 6 – Carbon pricing and reducing Australia's emissions
In November 2010, Ross Garnaut was commissioned to provide an update to the 2008 Review for the Australian Government and community. The Garnaut Climate Change Review—Update 2011 will release a series of papers between February and March addressing developments across a range of subjects including climate change science and impacts, international mitigation progress, land, carbon pricing, technology, and the electricity sector. A final report is to be presented to the Government by 31 May 2011.
At this event, Professor Garnaut will launch his sixth Update Paper, Carbon pricing and reducing Australia’s emissions. The paper evaluates Australia’s policy options for greenhouse gas mitigation and sets out the important elements of a fair, efficient and credible carbon pricing regime in the current, post-Cancun world. It considers the implications of Australia’s current fiscal position on the use of carbon-pricing revenue, and discusses the various potential uses of revenue. The paper also examines the rationale for, and approaches to, providing assistance to trade-exposed industries, electricity generators and households to manage the effects of mitigation policies, and to reduce the national costs of transition.
About the speaker: Ross Garnaut is one of Australia’s most distinguished and well-known economists. He is an Officer of the Order of Australia for services to education and international relations. Based in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies at the Australian National University from 1972 to 2008, he was Professor of Economics from 1989 to 2008. Professor Garnaut is now Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow and Professorial Fellow in Economics at the University of Melbourne. Separately to his work on the Climate Change Review Update, he is an independent expert adviser to the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee.
From 1985-88, Professor Garnaut was the Australian Ambassador to China, and he served as principal Economic Adviser to Prime Minister R.J.L. Hawke from 1983-85. Professor Garnaut is the author of numerous books and reports, including The Great Crash of 2008 (2009, Melbourne University Publishing), and Australia and the Northeast Asian Ascendancy (1989).
A historic vote for Australia's Future .. Carbon tax becomes law .. [short VIDEO inside] Smiles from a little over half the Australian Senate as the carbon pricing scheme is officially passed 36 to 32.
The Gillard government declared victory for a "historic economic reform" today after the Senate finally passed a carbon tax - laws that have created political havoc for four years and have been debated for more than a decade. The government won the historic vote in the upper house 36 to 32.
Labor and the Greens combined to pass the 18 "Clean Energy Future" bills just after midday, to applause from the packed public galleries.
Historic day ... for Julia Gillard, who lost popularity after vowing before the election there would be no carbon tax under her government. Photo: Andrew Meares
Finance Minister and former climate change minister Senator Penny Wong said that, on the Labor side of politics, "we accept the science, we accept the need to act [on climate change], and, like John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull, we accept the science and the advice that putting a price on carbon is the best way to reduce emissions."
Senator Wong failed to secure the passage of the former Rudd government's emissions trading scheme.
Coalition leader Tony Abbott was overseas when the Senate took its vote, but National Party frontbencher Senator Barnaby Joyce declared it was "a sad day when we reorganise our economy on the basis of a colourless, odourless gas ... it is the height of foolishness."
He said the tax would do nothing to change the temperature of the globe "whether it is going up down or sideways" but said Australian households would definitely be poorer and the Coalition "would make certain" they hadn't forgotten the reason at the next election, when he predicted Labor would be "crucified".
Greens Senator Christine Milne said Mr Abbott had "cut and run" and could have delayed his departure for a conference in Britain to be in Australia for the vote.
A last minute amendment by the Coalition and independent Senator Nick Xenophon to allow electricity generators to defer payment for the purchase of billions of dollars in forward-dated pollution permits failed.
A $23 a tonne carbon tax will now be paid by about 500 high-emitting companies from next July, with about half the revenue to be returned to households in the form of tax cuts and increases in pensions and family payments, to compensate them as electricity generators pass through the cost of the new tax.
Another $9.2 billion over the first four years of the carbon pricing scheme will be paid to high-emitting industries with overseas competitors not subject to a tax. They will receive up to 94.5 per cent of their emission permits for free.
The carbon price is designed to meet the emissions reduction target endorsed by both major parties of at least 5 per cent by 2020, compared with 2000 levels. Labor is now promising to cut Australia's emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
Mr Abbott, who took the Liberal leadership after a revolt against former leader Malcolm Turnbull's support for the Rudd Government's emissions trading scheme, has made opposition to the carbon tax a central issue of his leadership and has "pledged in blood" to repeal it.
AAP reports: The opposition's joint amendment with Senator Xenophon regarding deferred payment of future permits was defeated 36 to 32 just before the final vote was held.
Lenore Taylor is the Herald's National Affairs Correspondent.
lol .. did i get it right above .. is it as a noun .. please .. ?? ..........
Tuesday, 29 November 2011 11:11 James Thomson
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has been forced to swing the axe and cut spending to save Labor's much-promised 2012-13 budget surplus, with this morning's Mid Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook statement revealing a $20 billion drop in revenue over the next four financial years.
Swan's revised outlook suggests Labor can keep its promise – but only just.
Australia will post an underlying cash deficit of $371 billion in 2011-12 and a surplus of just $1.5 billion in 2012-13 – down from the $3.5 billion forecast by Swan in May.
While Treasury still expects the Australian economy will grow by 3.25% in the 2012-12 financial year, Swan used the release of the MYEFO to paint a dire picture of the global economy and its impact on Australia.
"Global economic and financial conditions have deteriorated markedly in recent months, and the risks to global stability from the European sovereign debt crisis have intensified. Global growth prospects have been downgraded markedly in 2012, with the euro area expected to return to recession," Swan said.
"This has led to a weaker near-term economic and fiscal outlook for Australia since the budget and substantial reductions to government revenues."
It's also led Swan to swing the axe and try to bring the budget back in line. Here are 10 key points from the MYEFO:
1. We're still growing
Treasury expects the Australian economy to grow at 3.25% in 2011-12 (down from May's prediction of 4% growth) and the same rate in 2012-13. Growth is then tipped to drop to 3% for 2013-14 and 2014-15.
2. The surplus is still alive
Wayne Swan's treasured surplus promise remains alive. After a big $37.1 billion deficit for 2011-12, Australia is expected to return to surplus in 2012-13 – but it's just $1.5 billion, down from $3.5 billion in May's Budget forecasts. That doesn't give Swan much room to move.
3. Employment growth is muted
Don't expect the Labor market to do much for a few years. Employment is expected to grow by just 1% in 2011-12 and 1.5% in each of the following financial years.
4. Tax revenue has fallen in a hole
The Government's tax take has been slugged by a range of things – poor sharemarket and property returns which mean poor capital gains tax returns, muted employment (lower income taxes) and lower company profits, except from the mining sector. Tax revenue has fallen by $20 billion over the next four years – a huge hole to fill.
5. Deferral of automatic deductions in personal tax returns
Remember the Government's plan to allow workers to claim $500 worth of tax expenses automatically, with this amount to increase to $1,000 in 2013-14? The second stage of this (that is, the increase from $500 to $1,000) appears to have been deferred, saving $1.17 billion over the next four years.
6. Crackdown on living-away-from-home allowances
The march of workers to remote areas has apparently caused a surge in rorts of valuable living-away-from-home allowances and the Government has had enough. Changes in this area will raise an extra $700 million over the next four years. Labor will also extend the phase out of the Dependent Spouse Tax Offset to those aged 60 years and under at July 1, 2012.
7. Super co-contribution wound back
The Government will save about $1 billion over the next four years by reducing co-contributions on superannuation and better targeting the contributions it does make towards low income earners.
8. Family payments have been cut
So-called middle-class welfare has long been suggested by economists as a cost cutting target and the Government has obliged. The baby bonus will be cut from just under $5,500 to $5,000 and frozen there. In addition, some family tax benefits will be linked to immunisation.
9. Better data matching by the ATO
The taxman is expected to raise a further $436 million over the next four years through better data matching, which underlines the increased sophistication of the ATO's work.
10. Public service asked to find cuts
Swan has asked the public service to come up with a cut in spending totally 2.5%.
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