A 5 billion dollar package to repair climate change damage? Current events here in Australia seem a little ironic to me. Here is why.
13 long years of drought in Australia kinda clinched the existence of climate change for many people, as has the flooding rains the followed. The heating of the oceans are causing so many different effects on the climactic system that Gaia has thrown everything into a spin. 2010 was, on average, the 3rd hottest year globally since records existed. Australia had one of its coldest years on record, and in the eastern part and some of the west, one of its wettest. The extreme weather events that the climatologist predicted would happen are now happening with regular occurrence not only our country, but globally. To put the icing on the cake, two tropical cyclones are heading towards Queensland as I write, probably making landfall within a week of each other.
Sounds like a strong response is required to cut our carbon emissions are in order, just like our learned scientists have been screaming at us to do quickly. Will we ever see this happen? I don’t believe so.
So what has been our Government’s response to this climate devastation? Well, a simple one really. Lets cut funding to climate projects, like large scale renewable energy, clean car fund, and even Carbon capture and storage (yes, even clean coal gets the cut). WTF??? Are they on some kind of hallucinogenic drug? Are they missing the forest for the trees (albeit, the cut down ones that they give the logging industry permission to cut down in swathes). Climatologist have a majority consensus regarding Climate Change. Sure not all of them, but the vast majority and that we should have acted at the turn of the century to prevent what is now occurring. So why should we pay for a levy, when the Hon. Julia Gillard PM, decides to cut Climate Change programs, to pay for Climate Change effects? So is a tax in disguise the answer to Climate Change? How stupid, short sighted and very, very ironic.
A levy (tax) for 12 months to pay for the damage caused by the flooding in three states of the country? Personally I am all for a levy to help pay my part, but without the cuts to climate change mitigation projects. However, it seems that it may not even be legal as I found this tit bit posted as a comment under a news article;
“Has anyone looked at the legality of such a tax? Under section 51(2) and 99 of the constitution, the commonwealth would be unable to impose income tax at different rates in different states. Under section 51(2) the parliament has power to tax but so as not to discriminate between states or parts of states. Under section 99 the commonwealth shall not, by any law or regulation of trade, commerce or revenue, give preference to one state or any part there of over another state or any part thereof. All for supporting the flood victims but lets not disregard the constitution in the process!! – boulder”
It doesn’t sound legal to me either but I am not a constitutional QC, so maybe that is why they are calling it a levy and not a temporary tax. A tax on the few with exemptions for certain parts of the population. It doesn’t seem fair.
Perhaps I could write a movie about a man who lost his wife and children due to Climate Change, and takes the law into his own hands to revenge Climate Change deniers in Parliament. The movie could be called “The Greater Good”. Mind you, the man would have to take out most of the Parliament for the effect to be any good. Not that I am advocating a Guy Faulks like event. Far from it. It just irritates me that either our politicians have not connected the dots, or have and are just ignoring the evidence. What happens when the next climate disaster occurs? Do we just get a continuous levy imposed aka tax. Why aren’t the industries that pollute pay more? That’s right, they have the ample funds to lobby the government for a cut in company tax, and to delay an inevitable carbon tax on the worst of them. Yet again the people pay for companies outright greed.
I believe that We will need to be in a Climate Change Disaster movie before Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott believe or act upon Climate Change decisively. What will it take?
Bloody ostriches!