Australia’s Senate has voted to repeal the carbon tax, a levy on the biggest polluters passed by the previous Australian Labor government. Tony Abbott, whose Liberal-National coalition beat Labor in an election last year, had made the repeal a central aim of his government. There have been fierce rows over the carbon tax for the last few months culminating in the vote this week where the Australian Senate voted by 39 to 32 votes to repeal the tax. Labor says the tax helped to combat climate change, but the Liberals claim it penalised legitimate businesses. Introduced in July 2012, it charges the 348 highest polluters A$23 (£13; $22.60) for every tonne of greenhouse gases they produce. Australia has promised to reduce its emissions levels by a very modest 5% on 2000 levels by 2020.
Let’s not forget that it’s Australia that is the developed world’s worst polluter per head of population. But critics, including Mr Abbott, said that the tax cost jobs and forced energy prices up. But he recognises the need for Australia to clean up its act. Abbot says he says he plans to replace it with a A$2.55bn taxpayer-funded plan under which industries will be paid to reduce emissions and use cleaner energy. How did Abbot manage to repeal the legislation when his coalition does not hold a majority in the Senate? The repeal went through with the support of senators from mining tycoon Clive Palmer’s Palmer United Party.
Green party leader Christine Milne described the vote as an “appalling day for Australia”. Labor accused Mr Abbott of “taking Australia backwards while the rest of the world is moving forward. All of Australia’s major trading partners are taking serious action on climate change, including in our own region.”
The Climate Institute think-tank said in a statement that the move left Australia “bereft of credible climate policy”.
But it is not all bad news; in the month of April reached its record level of output for wind energy- 4.6% of the total generation from the national electricity market. A few projects being completed this year might take the total output from Australian wind farms close to 5% of total generation, but in view of this week’s vote, it will be unlikely to get much further. Let’s not forget that Tony Abbott has gone on record as saying that wind turbines were “growing like mushrooms” and were expensive and unreliable.
Abbott’s office has appointed yet another climate science sceptic in Dick Warburton, who has said he believes nuclear is the only valid alternative to coal.
RES Australia, a subsidiary of UK-based RES Group, said a $450 million wind farm ready to build — and with a strong community and council support — in Victoria, would not go ahead if the RET was changed.
It’s an ill wind blowing through Australia.
