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Who does the Labor Party represent? Would that be major Financial Houses?

Another leading commentator — this time Michael Stuchbury in The Australian — see the Carbon Tax as a dead dog.

ARE these the signs that Labor’s climate change policy is heading for a second disaster? Big unions and big business are in revolt as the mining boom’s strong dollar squeezes the rest of the trade-exposed economy. Households are up in arms over surging power bills.

And since the shambles of the late 2009 Copenhagen climate summit, Labor hasn’t doused worries that its carbon tax would put Australia in front of the world, a critical risk for a carbon-intensive economy.

This treble of jobs, cost of living and international competitiveness engulfs Julia Gillard and Greg Combet as they attempt to reverse Kevin Rudd’s humiliating 2010 retreat on his emissions trading scheme. It is replete with political and policy failures, some of which are only now becoming evident.

Facing a revolt among steel industry members, Australian Workers Union secretary Paul Howes last week vowed to oppose Labor’s carbon tax if it cost just “a single job”, even with unemployment below 5 per cent. Remember this is Wayne Swan’s union, which was mostly responsible for replacing Rudd with Gillard.

Tim Blair also points out that virtually every man and his dog are against the tax, and now adds Barley Australia, the QBE and ratepayers to the list.

[QBE chairwoman Belinda] Hutchinson:

“Two weeks ago I would have been in the minority of people in business speaking up publicly against the carbon tax,” she said.

“Today, we have a situation where everyone is talking about a carbon tax.”

Who does the Labor Party represent?

Combet vowed to “put households first” . Yet it’s households who will be forced to pay. But for  what measurable benefit — how many degrees will that be Julia? The Labor Party used to be the party of the workers. Instead the carbon trading scheme (which is the “end” result of the tax) is destined to offer advantage to a select few industries. Which industry will make money no matter who buys and who sells and no matter what the price is?

Well lookee here:

Rothschild Australia and E3 International are set to become key players in the international carbon credit trading market, an emerging commodity market that analysts estimate could be worth up to US$150 billion by 2012.

In a move that will re-shape the fledgling emissions trading market, Rothschild Australia and E3 International today announced their intention to launch the Carbon Ring Consortium — an investment vehicle that will provide companies in the Asia Pacific Region with an innovative way of learning about and understanding their risks in the new carbon market.

The CEO of Rothschild must know that unions, industry and polls are all against the carbon scheme, and presumably sees the risk that the news is all bad in Australia (for those who favor the scheme). So he does what any marketing guru would — he bluffs:

Richard Martin, the chief executive officer of Rothschild Australia said, “With recent developments in international climate change policy, the question is no longer if, but when the global carbon trading market will emerge. Rothschild Australia, through Carbon Ring, intends to be at the forefront of this market, providing private investment vehicles to companies seeking to offset their greenhouse gas emissions liabilities.”

Yes, this press release is very much aimed at the mum and dad Labor voters…

Requiring an investment of US$100,000, with a portion returned to investors in the form of carbon credits, the Consortium is intended to provide investors with a low cost, low risk and structured entry into this new market.

UPDATE:

Diogenes adds in comments that Rothschild bought the Weather Channel

Evelyn de Rothschild and Lynn Forester de Rothschild said they are buying a majority stake in weather-data service Weather Central L.P., marking a significant expansion of the Rothschilds’ investments into media and information.

The couple’s private-investment company, E.L. Rothschild LLC, is slated to acquire 70% of Weather Central, which provides weather forecasting services and graphics to local television stations and TV programs such as ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Hmm

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