Grow a pair, Australia

By David Robertson, re-posted from here.

I’m fed up with all the misinformation going around in Australia about the carbon tax. Here’s a few short points you need to know about carbon reduction in Australia.

• Australia is not ‘going it alone’ by pricing carbon. That’s bullshit, plain and simple.
• Both parties plan to put a price on carbon. Labor’s price on carbon is a $23/tonne direct price, the indirect price from the Coalition’s direct action scheme is an estimated $15/tonne.
• Labour’s plan will see this price paid by the industries who create the carbon pollution. The Coalition’s plan doesn’t charge the polluters – the taxpayer foots the bill.
• The estimated costs to everyday Australians under Labour’s carbon tax are based on averages. You, personally, have some control over the cost. By consuming less power, or buying less carbon-intensive products, you will dodge most of the tax. However, you will still get the benefit of tax cuts. So if you’re smart, you can come out ahead under Labour’s scheme. Under the Coalition’s scheme, you will pay no matter what.
• Black Friday bushfires. Great Barrier Reef bleaching. Queensland floods. 2010 the hottest year on record. Wake up and realise this problem is real, it is happening now, and it will get much worse if we do nothing.

There you go. I’m not a cheerleader for the Gillard Labour government – I don’t think the scheme gets us where we need to be. A 5% cut by 2020 is nowhere near enough. The environment doesn’t care what’s politically or economically feasible, it cares how many billions of tons of carbon dioxide are pumped into the atmosphere. But Labour’s policy is better than the Coalition’s, for the taxpayer (i.e., you and me) and for the future.

Don’t be a bunch of selfish pricks, Australia. Grow a pair and shell out a few dollars a week to help protect your future and your grandkids’ future – not to mention the billions of other people, plants and animals around the world who will suffer