Australia carbon tax plans spark protests

[pampango]

Source: BBC

Rallies have taken place in Australia in protest at plans by the Labor government to bring in a carbon tax.

Hundreds of people have attended demonstrations in the national capital Canberra as well as in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Critics say without a binding global agreement the proposed levy will cost jobs and erode the competitiveness of Australian businesses.

The demonstrators have the support of the conservative opposition leader, Tony Abbott. He says that without a global carbon pricing agreement, Australian businesses would be less competitive.

Supporters of the tax believe it will cut pollution in Australia, which is one of the world's worst per capita emitters of greenhouses gases. They say it will also encourage the development of a low carbon economy. Prime Minister Julia Gillard (Labor) says that opposition will not derail the plan.



Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12828054

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"Hundreds" (Wow - HUNDREDS) of demonstrators; supported by conservative politicians; opposed by liberal prime minister. Sounds like tea party demonstrations have reached Australia. :)

[Dead_Parrot]

1. "We like want our country to burn, dammit"

Morons.

[HereSince1628]

2. Australia already burns. Regularly

"Competitiveness"...it appears english speaking conservatives all get the same messaging.

[pampango]

4. '"Competitiveness"...it appears english speaking conservatives all get the same messaging.'

Exactly. And something tells me that conservatives everywhere don't really want a "a binding global agreement" on carbon emissions. ("One world government usurping national sovereignty. The GBACE (global binding agreement on carbon emissions - I just made that up :) ) can't tell us what to do. We're a sovereign country." - We've heard it many times before on a variety of issues.)

They can cite the lack of a global agreement as the reason that their own country (whichever one that happens to be) shouldn't tackle carbon emissions, then they can work to make sure that the world never sees "a binding global agreement".

[Gman]

3. Understand that the conservative movement reaches to all parts of the earth

They have been in Australia for years, they're in Europe and, well, where ever white people are, including the Vatican.

[stockholmer]

5. nice use of 'racial'/ethnic reductionism, this is not conducive to viable discourse

"They have been in Australia for years, they're in Europe and, well, where ever white people are, including the Vatican."

This is more sheep-herd thinking, history is writ large with all forms of injustice, perpetrated by people of all different ethnic backgrounds.



:thumbsdown:

[Rebubula]

6. I must admit

I agree that Carbon taxes and buying carbon credits is a bullshit scam.

There is a lot more to the climate change debate than just climate change. To deny that people and governments are NOT trying to capitalize on this growing problem is to be willfully ignorant.

Climate change is a problem to be sure and man may be responsible for this - however, whenever govs start adding taxes I become suspect of motives as I do not trust government very much.

[Tanelorn]

7. I agree. Unfortunately we are going to get tied up in knots debating

the minutia that we will miss the bigger picture. If a carbon
tax ever does get a guernsey I fear a self satisfaction that
will envelop us as we think ,'well we solved that one, what's
next'