Thursday, 14 July 2011

The Gillard Government’s determination to introduce a Carbon Tax has been met with anger and concern in our local community, said the Federal Member for Mitchell, Alex Hawke.

Mr Hawke said he had spoken with many local families who were anxious about how they would now pay for increases in the price of electricity, food, and other household expenses.

“The overwhelming message I hear from our community is that the Carbon Tax will significantly impact on household budgets,” Mr Hawke said.

“Many local residents are already struggling with increasing costs, in particular, electricity prices which surged under ten years of New South Wales Labor Government. There is real anxiety in our community about the consequences of this Carbon Tax.

“We all understand the importance of protecting and preserving our precious environment. But what was announced by the Gillard Government this week was more about imposing a new tax than delivering an environmental benefit.

“The Gillard Government seems unwilling to either tell us, or unsure to what extent their Carbon Tax will impact on future global temperatures. Yet we have to pay.”

Mr Hawke said the Government’s own explanation of the Carbon Tax was contributing to anxiety in our community, and he had also spoken with numerous local residents who had been unable to estimate the impact the Carbon Tax will have on their household budgets.

“The Government was quick to promote the taxpayer-funded Clean Energy Future website and encouraged people to find out the impact of the Carbon Tax,” Mr Hawke said. “But what many local residents have told me is that the ‘compensation’ falls far short of what this Tax will cost.

“We should be in no doubt, many local residents will be worse off under this Tax.

“The taxpayer-funded Clean Energy Future website also had a flaw and many local residents had been unable to estimate the impact of the Gillard Government’s Tax. This failure only leads to greater anxiety and frustration for local residents worried about the impact of this new Tax.

“Prime Minister Gillard must listen to the concerns of our community. She must abandon this Carbon tax, a tax that will hurt many local families, without any tangible benefit for the environment,” Mr Hawke said.