A long way ahead for Gillard on her model of carbon

Comments on Dennis Shanahan “Aggressive Labor pressures Greens”, 12/02/2011, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/aggressive-labor-pressures-greens/story-e6frg6zo-1226004698801


It is only the beginning rather than the end of the difficult negotiations the minority Gillard government has to do with the cross benches, including the Greens on both houses of the parliament.

The government, of course, does not want to capitulate at the beginning to the Greens.

Its climate change advisors of course does not want to see that either.

But the current starting stance does not guarantee any end result will be anything like it.

I think it will be difficult in two major points:

1. The no target approach does not appear to be tenable, both domestically and internationally.

2. The huge amounts of subsidies to the mining and power industries don't appear to be reasonable, given that it is the consumers who will bear the rising costs of electricity and energy.

Both would not probably be passed by its own advisor.

The government will have to make big changes or concessions on both to satisfy the Greens and the pubic.


Further, the fixation with an ETS is irrational. So the hybrid model is ridiculous.

If a carbon tax works, why is there any need to move to a more costly and less coverage ETS model?