By Maggie Riddington.
First published in Issue 3 of The Warragul Citizen, December 12 2011. Published online: 29 February 2012.
Between the newspapers, TV reports and ads it’s easy to see why so many people are against the carbon tax. But the problem with the media coverage of the tax is the selective presentation of information. One ad claims that we will pay $17 billion worth of tax within the first six years, yet fails to mention that this is the best economic option – a tax that goes back to the people in the form of compensation. The alternative is paying similar billions worth of penalty payments to overseas jurisdictions.
Another question we all seem to be asking is ‘will the carbon tax actually do anything?’ If you had heard Andrew Bolt interview Tim Flannery you would think the answer is ‘nothing.’ Bolt asked Flannery if global temperatures were likely to drop with the introduction of a carbon tax and subsequent cut of emissions, to which Flannery replied that they were not likely to drop for a thousand years.
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So that means that the carbon tax is useless, right? Wrong. The media covered Flannery’s answer as proof that the carbon tax is a waste of our time and money when the wrong question was asked. At this stage we need to stop temperatures from rising. Whether or not they drop will remain to be seen, but that is irrelevant to our current cause. That’s like asking ‘Will the car go into reverse if I put the brakes on?’ No, you don’t want it to go in reverse. You just want to stop the speeding car.
We all seem to forget that our cities were built on taxes. Because of taxes we have sanitation and roads – the foundations of a city that we now take for granted. The carbon tax will provide the foundation for a chance at a future. The media needs to cover that angle.
To get a better understanding of the carbon tax go to sites such as www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au and www.carbontax.net.au before you believe what the media tells you.
Agree? Disagree? Join the discussion on this article below.
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