Abbott Absurdities On Climate Change - Bulletin No.14
Greg Combet posted Tuesday, 20 September 2011
For several months Tony Abbott has conducted an unprincipled scare campaign on the carbon price around the country. When the House of Representatives began debating the Gillard Government’s Clean Energy Bills this week, the Opposition Leader was just as willing to mislead Parliament. His speech displayed a cavalier attitude to the facts.
Claim 1: “We won’t be able to get on a bus or a train, ultimately to drive our cars, without being impacted by this tax.” (Tony Abbott, second reading speech, 14 September 2011)
Fact 1: The Government will not apply a carbon price to fuel used by household cars or light commercial vehicles. Buses using LPG, LNG, CNG or biofuels will not face an effective carbon price.
Claim 2: “Just to give you a snapshot, Mr Speaker, of some of the increases that will be faced ... Austral Bricks - $2 million a year additional cost; ...”
Fact 2: Austral Bricks is part of the Brickworks group which has said it will increase prices to recover the cost of the carbon price. The impact on brick production is less than two cents a brick. The Government is providing households with tax cuts, higher family payments and pension increases to meet the costs passed on by businesses.
Claim 3: “the Victorian hospital system - $13.5 million a year additional cost; ...”
Fact 3: Treasury modelling shows the average price impact on health services will be around 0.3 per cent. This is taken into account in the Government’s household assistance package.
Claim 4: “Nolan’s Transport in Gatton – an additional $300,000 a year in additional cost ...”
Fact 4: The Clean Energy Bills do not impose a carbon price on fuel used in heavy on-road vehicles. The Government plans to introduce an effective carbon price on fuel used by heavy on-road vehicles after the next election, from July 2014. This will give trucking companies time to make pass through arrangements. The Government is providing households with tax cuts, higher family payments and pension increases to meet the costs passed on by businesses.
Claim 5: “The Victorian Government has commissioned Deloitte Access Economics. Their modelling showed that there would be 23,000 fewer jobs across Victoria by 2015 as the result of the carbon tax.”
Fact 5: The Victorian Government has not released the Deloitte Access Economics modelling. Modelling by federal Treasury shows there will be around 400,000 extra jobs in Victoria by 2020 with a carbon price.
Claim 6: “The New South Wales Treasury modelling – and this was modelling originally undertaken for the NSW Labor Government when Michael Costa was the Treasurer of NSW – this modelling predicts that 31,000 jobs will be lost in NSW by 2030 as a result of the carbon tax ...”
Fact 6: The NSW Treasury commissioned modelling by Frontier Economics in August this year, under the NSW Liberal government. Frontier’s report finds employment in NSW will grow to 2030 under a carbon price, but by 0.45 per cent less than without a carbon price. Modelling by federal Treasury shows around 400,000 extra jobs will be created in NSW by 2020 with a carbon price.
Claim 7: “Mr Speaker, the Western Australian Treasury modelling predicts that Western Australian households within three years will be paying more than $2,120 a year for power compared with $1,515 a year now.”
Fact 7: The WA modelling referred to by Mr Abbott actually estimates the average increase in household electricity bills due to the carbon price to be $111 a year, or just over $2.00 a week, less than federal Treasury’s estimate of the average national impact on electricity prices. The impact on electricity prices is taken into account in the Government’s household assistance package.
Claim 8: “A 2009 Spanish study found that for every green job created by subsidies and price supports for renewable power, more than two jobs in other industries are lost.”
Fact 8: This study, by the founder of a libertarian think-tank in Spain, has been widely criticised for poor methodology. The US National Renewable Energy Laboratory has said the study used questionable methodology, lacked transparency and supporting data and ignored key information.
Claim 9: “In the period in which Australia intends to reduce its emissions by five per cent, China is forecast to increase its emissions by 500 per cent ...”
Fact 9: The 500 per cent figure used by Mr Abbott is the projected growth in China’s emissions from 1990 to 2020. It’s well known how much China has developed in the last 20 years, so it is misleading to imply that China’s emissions will grow by 500 per cent in the next eight years.
Claim 10: “Mr Speaker, it won’t even reduce emissions ... What is the point of all the pain of this carbon tax if our emissions are actually going to increase.”
Fact 10: Australia’s carbon pollution in 2010 was 578 million tonnes. Treasury modelling shows that with no carbon price this will rise to 686 million tonnes in 2020. With a carbon price, there will be 621 million tonnes of domestic pollution and Australian businesses will offset a further 94 million tonnes though international carbon credits in 2020. That gives net carbon pollution of 527 million tonnes in 2020 – a five per cent reduction on the 2000 level.
Misrepresentations, misquotations and misleading statements like this are not acceptable. I will continue issuing these Bulletins to hold the Opposition Leader accountable.