Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I'm no expert on the carbon tax, but it is intended to make carbon-intensive activity cost more so that "green" power will be more competitive. ATM the Government is subsidizing green power while there is no penalty for emitting CO2.
The "direct action" plan of the Coalition is supposed to work by paying pollutors to change their equipment so as to pollute less.
I suppose it depends if you want the Government to subsidize "green" power generators (ie you and me) or charge "dirty" power generators (while assisting low-income earners to pay the "dirty power bills).
Economists have worked out it is cheaper to go the ETS and carbon tax route rather than picking winners in the direct action route. I suppose you may be happy if you are a "winner" but not if you don't get supported by direct action.
Those of us who got a rebate for our PV panels win both ways because got money from the Government and we won't have big power bills from a carbon tax.

Dont get me wrong, heavy polluters should be charged.

I just think it is very hypocritical to try to push the tax and at the same time reduce rebates.
Why not use the tax to cover the cost of the rebates?
That way the heavy polluters are subsidising the additional cost of clean power generation.

I also like the comment Swannie made when they first started pushing the idea

Ummm, you're the treasurer and you dont think big business will pass additional costs onto the consumer? Really?

Yeah, and that's the problem... a "one off" rebate to users... or even a tax cut... wont compensate for future price rises...

I'm actually in favour of just setting pollution limits on industry, within given timetables... and having them monitored by the EPA... like it used to do.... and fining any industry the doesn't meet and/or exceeds the targets... each and every time... substantially...

With possible tax breaks/concessions/rebates... to any industries... for any capital investment required to meet the targets...

Carrot & stick.... after all... until polluting industries stop polluting... the problem wont be solved...

I guess the simple fact is that guess what, "stuff" has been way too cheap, energy is cheap and polluting is cheap and this has been passed onto consumers for years. Lots of cheap stuff, with the downside being fairly invisible, finite fuel sources being consumed at an ever increasing rate and slow pollution build up in the oceans and atmosphere.

Sooner or later stuff is going to be more expensive because its artificially low now..

But of course it's political suicide to try and admit such things, you have to try and pretend to the general public that someone else will be paying for it, not you normal voting people, just those big mean polluters...

Coz it's not like the general public is actually responsible, it's not like they are the ones driving the demand causing the dirty pollution in the first place... They just want to go about their quiet lives, driving their SUV's to their Mcmansions which runs AC 24/7.. To sit in front of their new giant plasma while playing with their ipad, etc, etc. No they shouldn't have to pay any more for anything, it's those dirty big polluters....

And some people think sarcasm doesn't work on forums

Dunno, I got it

The "dirty big pollutors" are also the ones who deliver electricity to our doors whenever we want it. I wonder what the future holds regarding peak demand - it's very expensive to build power generators that sit around waiting for the one or two days evey year when everybody turns on their AC at the same time. Now a lot of the electricity generation is in private hands, how motivated are they to keep the lights on 24/7?
I wonder how we would be tackling the issue if electricity generation was Government owned? As least then taxpayers would be investing in their own assets, instead of the "direct action" idea of giving out money to private companies.