25 July 2012

Economic modelling for carbon tax suggests bad news for ACT

| Ruqi
Join the conversation
25

The National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling at the University of Canberra has broken down the impact of the carbon tax by state, and discovered that the ACT will be paying above the national average. This will be due to our higher incomes and the production of more emissive energy in the ACT.

Results show on average households will be paying less than the Treasury forecasts.

But researcher Ben Phillips says ACT residents will be paying more.

“We said the national average is around $8.80 for the ACT, it’s a little higher around about $11.70 per week,” he said.

The average household will receive $10.10 a week in government assistance, so it seems ACT residents might be out of pocket a little.

The ACT Opposition Leader Zed Seselja has responded to the news by accusing Labor of instituting “massive cost of living pressures across the board”:

“This yearly $540 hit for the carbon tax is unsustainable for many families, who are already facing massive cost of living pressures across the board.[…] Canberrans will also be undercompensated. One in five Canberra families will receive no compensation, and three in five Canberra families will be out of pocket.”


UPDATE 25/7/12 10:40 AM
Senator Gary Humphries has responded with an attack at Labor:

“Labor’s ‘promise’ that only 294 of the biggest polluters will pay more as a result of the carbon tax is complete garbage. The facts are that costs will be passed on to householders and business owners and the biggest hurt will be felt here in the ACT.

“Labor can’t be trusted to keep the cost of living down, they can’t be trusted to make Australians’ lives any easier and they can’t be trusted to keep their promises”, Senator Humphries concluded.

Apparently, the average Canberra household will be paying almost 80% more than the average South Australian household, though no figures have been supplied to support this yet.

Join the conversation

25
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

davo101 said :

Apparently, the average Canberra household will be paying almost 80% more than the average South Australian household, though no figures have been supplied to support this yet.

Median weekly income per SA household $1044, ACT $1920, which is 84% higher than the SA figure. So 80% more carbon cost for the ACT sounds about right.

When the trickle down effect kicks in this is close to what it will be.

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

If there was a global agreement I’d be all for it.

‘I’m not taking responsibility for my actions until everybody all over the world takes responsibility for their actions in exactly the same way all at the same time!’ bleated the moral coward.

(And that’s why you smell like lanolin.)

Pray tell what’s immoral about wanting an agreement that will achieve something rather than useless symbolism that puts our country at a disadvantage for no tangible benefit?

You might have a point if climate change was an issue that could be affected locally or globally by our actions but it’s not. It’s a global issue for which only a global solution will suffice.

It’s not about morality, its about risk management.

Woody Mann-Caruso7:12 pm 30 Jul 12

If there was a global agreement I’d be all for it.

‘I’m not taking responsibility for my actions until everybody all over the world takes responsibility for their actions in exactly the same way all at the same time!’ bleated the moral coward.

(And that’s why you smell like lanolin.)

Apparently, the average Canberra household will be paying almost 80% more than the average South Australian household, though no figures have been supplied to support this yet.

Median weekly income per SA household $1044, ACT $1920, which is 84% higher than the SA figure. So 80% more carbon cost for the ACT sounds about right.

chewy14 said :

The problem is, this Carbon tax won’t achieve squat in relation to climate change.

Not if the deniers have their way, it won’t.

The simple fact of the matter is that the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has increased by almost 50%. This is heating the planet up. Sensible people believe this is something that needs to be addressed. Brain-dead morons sucking on the teat of Corporate misinformation channels believe we should do nothing. It’s all about whether you are an ethical human being or not.

Jethro said :

Heaven forbid we pay a buck a day to respond to something that science has identified as a major issue confronting the future wellbeing of our society.

The response in question actually has to do something to ensure “the future wellbeing of our society”.

Policies should be judged by their results, not by the underlying intentions.

PantsMan said :

…it is a Fabian socialist income redistribution scheme…

Ah, well, if you put it like that, I suppose I support it then.

OMFG!!! This is going to cost me $1.60 a WEEK!! A WEEK!

Zed! SAVE US!

Jethro said :

Heaven forbid we pay a buck a day to respond to something that science has identified as a major issue confronting the future wellbeing of our society.

See this is the argument I hate.

I’ve got no problem paying a small amount extra for something that will have a meaningful effect on world climate change. If there was a global agreement I’d be all for it.

The problem is, this Carbon tax won’t achieve squat in relation to climate change.

Mr Gillespie8:38 am 28 Jul 12

Jethro said :

Heaven forbid we pay a buck a day to respond to something that science has identified as a major issue confronting the future wellbeing of our society.

What “future wellbeing”? Is your crystal ball showing you wild scenes of Hell in a CO?-filled atmosphere??

Even if you believe that CO2 emissions are sending us all to a fiery hell, why anyone thinks that increasing the price of everything so that the government has more money to splash around to its favoured constituencies for an effect that so small is it not measurable is a good idea is a mystery.

It’s not science, it’s not economics, it’s religion, folks. Suffer and be saved!

Heaven forbid we pay a buck a day to respond to something that science has identified as a major issue confronting the future wellbeing of our society.

I think the carbon tax is great . Actually it should be even higher, becuase the higher it is, the more voters will wake up to themselves and vote against the current government and the greens at the next election.

So don’t think of it as a tax, but rather as a small, short term subsidy to pay to get rid of the current government – remember everything worthwile is worth paying for.

troll-sniffer said :

If ever there was a story that spelt bad news for the ACT, nay, the demise of our western civilisation, then this is it.

Speaking of alarmism, why do we need a carbon tax again?

Oh that’s right, because of a need to avoid “the demise of our western civilisation” due to climate phenomena (too much rain, not enough rain, higher temperatures, lower temperatures, huge increases in sea levels, wild storms etc) which arise solely due to human activity, and which humans can control.

A tax which effectively falls on 17% of the population of a country producing ~2% of global greenhouse gas emissions will fix all of that.

PantsMan said :

troll-sniffer said :

If ever there was a story that spelt bad news for the ACT, nay, the demise of our western civilisation, then this is it.

To the extent that it is a Fabian socialist income redistribution scheme-which will have no effect on the weather (errr, climate)-but which is designed to distroy the private sector and socialise the modes and means of production, you are correct.

Oh well played Sir. thast whats needed in the 21st Century 1950s paranoid rhetoric!

davo101 said :

PantsMan said :

it is a Fabian socialist income redistribution scheme-which….is designed to destroy the private sector and socialise the modes and means of production, you are correct.

Given the fact that every tax is an income redistribution scheme (someone takes your money and puts it somewhere else), taxes have been around for millennia, and we still have a private sector, I think we can safely assume that the private sector will be just fine thank-you.

In fact, as happened in British Columbia, some parts of the private sector forge ahead with a carbon tax imposed.

Also, they’ve had a carbon tax in some places for 20 years – no sign of Fabian dictatorship appearing over there.

I think we can safely say talk of a commie plot is the work of vested interests and their useful idiots.

PantsMan said :

it is a Fabian socialist income redistribution scheme-which….is designed to destroy the private sector and socialise the modes and means of production, you are correct.

Given the fact that every tax is an income redistribution scheme (someone takes your money and puts it somewhere else), taxes have been around for millennia, and we still have a private sector, I think we can safely assume that the private sector will be just fine thank-you.

troll-sniffer said :

If ever there was a story that spelt bad news for the ACT, nay, the demise of our western civilisation, then this is it.

To the extent that it is a Fabian socialist income redistribution scheme-which will have no effect on the weather (errr, climate)-but which is designed to distroy the private sector and socialise the modes and means of production, you are correct.

“Beyond that, the energy we produce here is a little bit more emissive

Emissive??
Is he (Ben Phillips) referring to the hot air and bull dung being dished out by the pollies on Capitol Hill?

dungfungus said :

“We said the national average is around $8.80 for the ACT, it’s a little higher around about $11.70 per week,” he said.

That is a 33% increase!

Is this what “a little higher is”?

Hmm, let’s see, ACT household median weekly income $1920, extra ACT hit $2.90, …carry the two…, that’s 0.15%.

dungfungus said :

Also, does this include GST?

Given that they are modelling household cost then, obviously, yes.

VYBerlinaV8_is_back10:42 am 25 Jul 12

Implementing envvironmental measures like this was always going to cost us. I think the cost is actually pretty cheap, but I also don’t think the scheme will be particularly effective.

troll-sniffer10:41 am 25 Jul 12

PantsMan said :

Commonweatlh Treasury (shonks) said that there would be a 10 percent increase in electricity prices over 5 years. That explains the 10 percent increase overnight.

OMG how will we survive? I’ve already started to draw up my spreadsheet to rejig the budget, I’ll cancel the club membership and stop putting the odd $20 through the pokies, I’ll walk or ride to the shops once a week to save petrol, I’ll educate the teenage kids to actually turn the plasma and the lights off when they exit their wing of the Mcmansion, and I’ll get the wifey to cut down from three showers a day to two. With any luck that’ll claw back the extra impost that this irresponsible wasteful government has thrust upon us. Just to be clear, I’ve calculated that over the next century, unless something is done, my family will be out of pocket by a massive ($1.60×52.18×100=) $8348.80. I mean where’s Alan Jones, or ACA when you need them??? If ever there was a story that spelt bad news for the ACT, nay, the demise of our western civilisation, then this is it.

Commonweatlh Treasury (shonks) said that there would be a 10 percent increase in electricity prices over 5 years. That explains the 10 percent increase overnight.

“We said the national average is around $8.80 for the ACT, it’s a little higher around about $11.70 per week,” he said.

That is a 33% increase! Is this what “a little higher is”?

Also, does this include GST?

Buckaroo_Banzai9:47 am 25 Jul 12

Well with that comma where it is, it looks like ACT is paying 8.80. Assuming that’s just bad grammar, government assistance leaves us with a net extra 1.60 a week. I think we’ll survive.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.