Turnbull killed off the best campaign issue for the Coalition — the carbon tax

It was no accident that Turnbull turned out to be a lousy campaigner. He stood for things the people didn’t want, so he couldn’t mention his “successes” nor point at Labor’s big failures.

Andrew Bolt wonders why Turnbull didn’t run the carbon tax scare, which worked so well for Tony Abbott:

If only Turnbull had followed another critical tip from the shrewd Hunt, to hit Labor with an attack on his planned electricity tax – a new carbon tax. As Labor’s Mediscare has proved, the electorate is highly sensitive to threats to the household budget after several years now of living standards not rising. An attack on Labor’s electricity tax could have been decisive, but that was one more piece of good advice Turnbull ignored.

It was not about good advice. Turnbull couldn’t run the carbon tax scare — because he and Greg Hunt had bought a carbon tax in themselves  — the hypocrites would be exposed. Worse, it would remind the electorate of what they voted for so emphatically in 2013 — a mandate to get rid of a carbon tax.

The last time the Coalition could campaign on getting rid of that great big carbon tax was May 23rd when Christopher Pyne was asked about differences between the two big parties on Q and A, but that was only because he hadn’t read the Alan Kohler article that came out the next day. (It shows how secret this CapNTrade scheme was that even the head honcho’s of the team driving the legislation don’t realize what they’ve legislated.)

Christopher Pyne, May 23rd, Q and A:

“I can tell you with a number of different measures… I believe we will meet our [emissions] target without doing what Labor wants to do, which is bring back a job-destroying carbon tax.”

After May 24th, that option was dead. The Labor party were not afraid of “the carbon tax” scare. Turnbull had killed off the key issue, the blood oath that won the Abbott Coalition 90 seats in 2013.

Turnbull couldn’t mention the carbon tax — either as a success or a failure

Turnbull had achieved something two Labor leaders had bet their careers on and suffered legendary losses over. He managed to get the carbon tax and trade legislation through Parliament that had been sought after by Greens, Banks, Bankers and Financial cheats for years. This extraordinary achievement ought to be something he could sell as his own success. (Rudd, Gillard and Shorten certainly would have). But since the public don’t want a carbon tax, Turnbull had to hide his one really significant  “achievement” from his nine dismal months in office.

The new version of the carbon tax was buried in legislation on the last day of Parliament before Christmas. The SneakTax was hidden under something called the “SafeGuard Mechanism”. It is a shapeshifting piece of legislation that could be everything or nothing, depending on how it is used. Greg Hunt can tell conservatives that the Caps are set so high that it will hardly have an impact, and he can tell the wets that the caps can be screwed down to meet all the targets. It was the perfect legislation that could be all things to all people — the only drawback was that it would be electoral death. The new carbon tax legislation is such a potentially big monster, it could affect 150 of our largest companies who emit half our emissions. In the wrong hands, that’s half our economy.

With no carbon tax the Coalition won 90 seats: with a carbon tax, the Coalition may lose government.

Turnbull pandered to the very green-left activists that Abbott opposed and people wonder why he campaigned so badly?

UPDATE: As Peter C points out in comments, the main instigator of this was Greg Hunt and from before Turnbull was appointed leader. The Regulations in Draft. The enabling “Regulation Rule” was officially created by Greg Hunt on September 2, 2015, nearly two weeks before the coup to remove Abbott. The plans were already in place. It stated:  This instrument commences on 1 July 2016.  But Turnbull as leader made the choice to stick with it, to not use the carbon tax in the election campaign, and to not make any guarantees or promises to the many in the Liberal base who do not want carbon trading. If Turnbull loses, Shorten will have his carbon tax already. He can use this legislation, shrink the caps, and bring in the money and it was not even an election issue.

h/t MV

9.7 out of 10 based on 56 ratings

53 comments to Turnbull killed off the best campaign issue for the Coalition — the carbon tax

  • #
    Another Ian

    And a question from out of the far field

    When Malcolm didn’t run with all those things that seemed obvious to us (and as the view is that Tony Abbott would have)

    [When] did Malcolm know that Bill Shorten had him by the short and curlys?

    [edited for clarity- J]

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    Peter Miller

    Another case of those supporting ecoloon policies getting their just deserts, or is it desserts?

    Carbon taxes, renewables’ subsidies and anti-coal hysteria in the UK and the EU are leading in to an expensive energy dead end.

    This is so obvious and what’s worse is the Chinese and Indians know it and act accordingly, ;they just laugh hilariously at the hugely damaging ecoloon policies of the West.

    As for Turnbull, and speaking as an outsider, Turnbull appears to be a power addicted member of an out of touch, effete, member of a political ‘elite’. Sadly, he knifed the better man in the back and now the Coaltion is paying the price.

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      Graeme No.3

      Peter Miller:
      Add in the Japanese, South Koreans, Indonesians, Vietnamese, South Africans, Zimbabweans (subject to signing), Germans, Poles, Czechs and several African and even South American countries negotiating with the Chinese about new cheap electricity delivering coal-fired stations.
      Sorry, forgot the Russians and Yankees who are very keen on natural gas. Even Sweden has reversed direction about wind turbines recently.

      The only waynow available to deliver “carbon free” electricity is a combination of nuclear and hydro (as in France, Switzerland, Sweden) or lots of hydro (Norway, Iceland and Paraguay). Guess what methods our green loons rule out.

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      Mike

      ….” member of a political ‘elite’. Maybe the creditors/banks/central banks have something to do with favouring one set of policies over another set of policies that might include getting into less debt. Spending is synonymous with ‘debt’ presently.

      The idea might be wrong, but then again it might be right. If the creditors do not like the idea, the funding/credit rating is downgraded. You cannot always blame politics for eco/green/etc or any other creditor funded policy venture.

      “Trump Takes Aim At The Global Elite”

      http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-04/trump-takes-aim-global-elite

      Some contrast to our own political climate. ‘Interesting times’ on everything, and every subject, including wind turbines

      “U.N. Official ‘Accidentally’ Crushes Own Throat Right Before Testifying Against Hillary Clinton”

      http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-07-02/un-official-accidentally-crushes-own-throat-right-testifying-against-hillary-clinton

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  • #
    TdeF

    Turnbull ran a dead in the water campaign without any policies except a tax on superannuation which was anaethema to his Liberal supporters. Why did he run dead on so many Liberal issues like a Carbon tax, boat people, terrorism, law and order, small government, lower taxation?

    You can only conclude that he did not dare tell the electorate what he was really going to do and burn even more support. His plan was to get elected and then tell us. A few insiders probably knew the lot but for everyone else and especially Coalition voters, it was going to be a big surprise and presumably one they really did not like.

    Now we can only guess what the ‘real’ Malcolm had planned? Perhaps even the Greens baulked at the end, partly because he was planning to take over their patch too? While no one wants to see Unionist Shorten in power, the result is precisely right to stop Malcolm from running his own country with unfettered power as extreme socialist Conroy liked to say. Possibly the election result so far has been a dream result for the public and a disaster for scheming politicians who treat Canberra as a playground. Now we the public can watch parliament in a country where cock fighting is illegal.

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    • #

      Yes TdeF. It would be good if Turnbull resigned. The libs would easily win his seat so no change to the overall numbers. Julie Bishop should also go. She would find a job at the UN. At least she should would be better than Rudd the Dud. Can not think who should replace Turnbull. Maybe Barnaby Joyce could fill a temporary leader until the libs are sorted. At least he understands accounts and finance. Maybe Morrison could fill in as deputy to see if he can eventually be a leader.

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      • #
        Graeme No.3

        He won’t resign.
        The fiasco of the Republican referendum where he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by insisting on a simple but unworkable approach bcause “the plebs wouldn’t understand anything else”.
        The fiasco of his first go as leader after knifing Brendan Nelson. Tony Abbott offered to step aside if anyone else wanted to challenge, but had to go alone.
        The fiasco of his first go as Prime Minister introducing the retrospective superannuation tax because “the plebs can’t go anything else”.

        He may think “he’s the smartest person in the room” but that room is in…..

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      • #

        From Andrew Bolt- Pauline Hanson Policy on Science, Energy & climate. More would have voted for that if they had known
        “Hold a Royal Commission (or similar) into the corruption of climate science and identify whether any individual or organisation has misled government to effect climate and energy policy.

        Remove all subsidies and financial advantages offered to the renewable energy industry and make them compete on an even playing field with other energy sources.

        Support reliable, low-cost power generation. This has previously been Australia’s strongest competitive advantage.

        Establish an independent Australian science body replacing the UN IPCC to report on climate science. It will be the beyond politicisation and be the basis of Australian policy on insurance and response to weather events.

        One Nation will oppose all taxes levied on carbon dioxide, be it a flat carbon tax or a floating emissions trading scheme…

        Abolish the Renewable Energy Target (RET) and support practical cost-effective research into energy efficiency, reliability and dependability.

        Cancel all agreements obliging Australia to pay for foreign Climate Action and payment to the United Nations and foreign institutions…

        Remove from the education system the teaching of a one-sided view of climate science. Teaching of climate science will begin in secondary school and will be based on the scientific method of scepticism until proven.”

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    • #
      clive

      TdeF,we probably couldn’t have done much better than we did.At least in the Senate,neither party can push through Legislation which will not be in our best interest.Our “New”lady in the senate should stir the pot.Popcorn time,me-thinks.

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  • #
    King Geo

    Turnbull has managed to turn a 35 seat majority into a 0 seat majority. Had he said during campaigning that “their will not CT under my watch’ then we would not have witnessed the current electoral carnage. This is what happens when you select a leader with “centre left” idealogy. Lesson learned – pick “right wing” leaders like Abbott, Howard etc. I have little doubt that Turnbull should either resign or be replaced in the near future – the Liberal Parties survival depends on him exiting.

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    • #
      TdeF

      Despite the nine year long hatchet job done on Abbott, he was a great PM who achieved many things in a short time against a senate who would only pass wage increases for themselves. Jaqui Lambie said no to legislation without reading it but Abbott is still the only Coalition leader the opposition fear.0

      I do not know why Tony Abbott could not have his job back? Is this now fashionable? What did he do wrong? Who is better qualified, a known quantity, a steady leader? Or is looking at his watch really mysogyny, winking on radio a crime as is eating an onion? Does anyone realise the Palace asked every Commonwealth country for that pointless Knighthood as a zero cost 95th birthday gift for the former Chancellor of Cambridge and other universities and long patron of so many charities for 60 years?

      So did we really think Tony was unfit to be our PM when he was elected with a giant majority, when he alone removed the Carbon tax and the mining tax or did we really believe what we are told by Turnbull’s ABC? I would love to see him get his job back. He deserves it and we all know only he can sort out this unholy mess, once again picking up the pieces after Turnbull in a China shop.

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      • #
        Analitik

        Tony Abbott frittered away political capital with some silly gestures and really should not have allowed Peta Credlin (for all her political nous) to act as a gate keeper for him. This made him vulnerable to MSM ridicule and along with the deadlocked senate, lowered his public standing.

        But having said all this, Abbott was a man of his word, often to his immediate detriment, and people could sense this. The greenwash may despise him but they fear him because they know he sees through their deceptive sales pitch. The general public may not have any great affection for him but they respect his integrity.

        And unlike Turnbull, Abbott is a great campaigner – willing to mix it with a not always receptive public and capable of standing toe to toe with the Marxist interrogators at the ABC & SBS. He deserves another chance to prove that he can lead as well as he can oppose.

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        • #
          clive

          Never believe the “Polsters”They lie.Just look at Brexit.Even the “Bookies”got it wrong.

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      • #
        TdeF

        As Peta Credlin said tonight, after all he has been though and the betrayal and now all the work to do to get back in front, why would Tony Abbott take the job? A very good question. Then if he did perform the miracle, what is to stop his own party from doing it all again?

        Like Rudd, Tony should only take on the job with a change of rules of the Liberal party to not remove the sitting leader on a 50% vote. This was a first for the Liberals but it was supposed to be a Labor infighting disease and then along came Malcolm who threw away a decade of hard work by Tony in just a few months of profligate waste of goodwill.

        All Malcolm had to do was get five people to change their minds and he was made PM without merit, without earning it and without any plan or talent for the job and like Rudd, no ability at all to manage a team. Spoilt and thin skinned. So when things do not work out, as on Saturday night and his failure at the Referendum for a Republic, Malcolm blamed everyone but himself and thanked no one. Nothing has changed. Malcolm has just failed dismally for the third time. He needs to leave parliament and get a job he can do.

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  • #
    pat

    well, money will have to be found to subsidise Finkel’s imaginings:

    2 Jul: ABC The Science Show: Imagining Australia in 2030
    Alan Finkel, Chief Scientist describes what Australia could be like with the right policies and investment, and how he sees the nation getting there.
    EXCERPTS FROM TRANSCRIPT –
    FINKEL: So it occurred to me the other day that I am probably the closest thing that this country has to an ambassador for the future. After all, what is it that I do all day? I think about the future, I talk about the future. I call for investment in the future, and I try to stop the occasional war from breaking out in the future, all of the things that your standard, time bound ambassador would do for their country. And I’ve got all the accessories. I’ve got a diplomatic passport, I really do. I’ve got an embassy in Canberra…well, I’ve got an office in Canberra, but it’s not far from the diplomatic precinct. I get the privilege of transport by ComCar. I have an official crest on my card. I have parking privileges at the Academy of Science. And with a bit of luck, diplomatic immunity if I say anything inflammatory tonight.

    But I do take this responsibility seriously because the future is a place that we need to think about in everything we do. So let me share with you a little bit about the future that I want to represent. And bear with me as we leap forward to 2030…

    Then look at South Australia, the battery capital of the world. They learned from the electricity shortages back in 2016. Now, in 2030, when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, energy storage at scale keeps this state powering on.
    And Tasmania, innovation isle. It’s the gateway to Antarctica. It’s an epicentre of climate science. It’s a testbed for agricultural technologies and a leader in hydro, wind and solar.
    ***Here in Canberra we’re looking out the window at our ***self-driving cars, and I don’t need to add, they’re all fully electric. We’re early adopters, after all…

    So how have we reached this future? What did we do? Well, partly through wise investments in education at all levels…Through reforms to tax settings that enable investors to take intelligent risks…

    And of course, there’s the Academy of Science. So what does this great flagship look like in 2030? Here’s my vision: in 2030, when a Minister wants to know something, she thinks of the Academy first…
    http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/imagining-australia-in-2030/7561328

    ***more work needed on those self-driving cars:

    1 Jul: USA Today: Mary Bowerman: Witness: Driver watched ‘Harry Potter’ as self-driving car crashed
    The Ohio man who died while using the “Autopilot” feature on his Tesla electric car was watching Harry Potter when he was fatally injured in a wreck while the car was in self-drive mood, according to a witness.
    Joshua Brown, 40, of Canton, Ohio, died from injuries he sustained when a tractor-trailer made a left turn in front of his 2015 Tesla on a highway near Williston, Fla., in May…
    Frank Baressi, 62, the man driving the truck that Brown’s car collided with, told AP that Brown was “playing Harry Potter on the TV screen” at the time of the crash.
    “It was still playing when he died and snapped a telephone pole a quarter mile down the road,” Baressi told AP. Baressi said he couldn’t see the film playing, but heard it.
    There were no references to the movie in the police report, AP reported. And Tesla confirmed that it is not possible to watch movies on the Model S touch screen…
    Brown was born in Great Lakes, Ill., in 1976 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1997, according to his obituary. He dedicated 11 years to the Navy SEALs and later created his own technology company, Nexu Innovations, Inc., according to his obituary.
    Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted his condolences on Thursday evening…
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2016/07/01/navy-seal-vet-killed-using-teslas-autopilot-posted-close-call-video-month-ago/86592458/

    2 pages: 3 Jul: Reuters: Was Tesla driver killed watching DVD with ‘autopilot’ on?
    A digital video disc player was found in the Tesla car that was on autopilot when its driver was killed in a 7 May collision with a truck, Florida Highway Patrol officials said on Friday US time.
    Whether the portable DVD player was operating at the time of the crash has not been determined, however, witnesses who came upon the wreckage of the 2015 Model S sedan gave differing accounts on Friday US time about whether the player was showing a movie…
    A man who lives on the property where Brown’s car came to rest some 300m from the intersection where the crash occurred said when he approached the wreckage 15 minutes after the crash, he could hear the DVD player. An FHP trooper on the scene told the property owner, Robert VanKavelaar, that a “Harry Potter” movie was showing on the DVD player, VanKavelaar told Reuters on Friday US time.
    Another witness, Terence Mulligan, said he arrived at the scene before the first Florida state trooper and found “there was no movie playing”.
    “There was no music. I was at the car. Right at the car,” Mulligan told Reuters on Friday US time.
    Sergeant Kim Montes of the Florida Highway Patrol said on Friday US time that “there was a portable DVD player in the vehicle”, but wouldn’t elaborate further on it. She also said there was no camera found, mounted on the dash or of any kind, in the wreckage…
    Paul Weekley, the lawyer for the truck driver, Frank Baressi, 62, of Palm Harbor near St. Petersburg, said the Tesla’s data recorder had been removed before his investigators were able to see it…
    http://www.crn.com.au/news/was-tesla-driver-killed-watching-dvd-with-autopilot-on-430084

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    • #
      Graeme No.3

      As the famous football coach once said “when the going gets tough you get a lot of stupid suggestions from the spectators”.

      SA the battery capital? The chinese would make them for a third of the cost. And by the way, lithium batteries don’t anything that standard batteries do except weigh less – hence their use in cars and aeroplanes. And do see https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/teslas-incredible-shrinking-powerwall-warranty/
      For the benefit of trolls who have trouble with arithmetic I sumarize “Tesla is not going to pay out for defects unless you present yourself and the defective Tesla Powerwall at the counter at 12 Hernando del Magellanos, Ushuaia, Argentina on the first Tuesday of the month between 9.01 and 9.09 am.”

      And Tasmania won’t be a leader in hydro until the Greens drop their opposition to dams.

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  • #
    el gordo

    Possible future Opposition leader Scott Morrison has little understanding of climate change or Direct Action.

    ‘We say what we mean, we mean what we say, we do what we say we’d do in the way we say we’d do it.’

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  • #
    PeterS

    It’s pretty obvious why Turnbull miscalculated. He doesn’t have a clue that he is so unpopular by the conservative voters, so much so they have deserted him in large numbers. I said it a long time ago – he is so much like Rudd. In fact when Rudd was PM Turnbull was very agreeable to Rudd’s plans on tackling carbon emissions with either an ETS or carbon tax. But of course most politicians have such short memories. Funny how Turnbull has forgotten that Abbott won with a landslide because of that very issue and the border issue. Turnbull always wanted an ETS. If he wins government he will almost certainly put one into practice. After all he’s a man from Goldman Sachs – and that says a lot. It’s a shame Turnbull didn’t lose the election clearly so that his own party can dump him. Having two pathetic leaders such as Shorten and Turnbull around trying to govern this country is just too much. It’s enough to move to NZ.

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  • #
    Peter C

    GREG HUNT, NOT TURBULL IS TO BLAME

    Turnbull couldn’t mention the carbon tax — either as a success or a failure

    Turnbull had achieved something two Labor leaders had bet their careers on and suffered legendary losses over. He managed to get the carbon tax and trade legislation through Parliament that had been sought after by Greens, Banks, Bankers and Financial frauds for years. This extraordinary achievement ought to be something he could sell as his own success.

    I have said this before but I am going to say it again.

    Turnbull did not pass any Carbon Tax legislation though parliament on the last day of sitting. The carbon tax is all the work of Greg Hunt.

    Greg Hunt has made a regulation or Rule which is allowed and authorised by legislation made by the Gillard government.

    The legislation is the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007.

    Greg Hunt has made up a Rule (ie Regulation) under the act. The very first words of his regulation are:

    I,Greg Hunt, Minister for the Environment make the following legislative rule, dated 17 October 2015.

    https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2015L01637

    There was no last minute secret legislation passed on the last day of the old parliament. No one voted. Greg Hunt, on his own came up with this cynical and sneaky plan. He is responsible. Talk about the shrewd Hunt. He is an absolute snake in the grass.

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    • #

      Peter, true that this is Greg Hunt’s baby and that the drafts of this legislation go back even to before the Abbott coup (the earliest I have seen is Sept 2015). But Turnbull was the boss, the chief strategist. Even if he was unaware of what the legislation contained in detail, he could have spoken up against it in May when the Kohler article came out during the election campaign. He could have at least made a commitment about those caps – he could have offered to remove the SafeGuard program, or at least limit it. The Liberal Party would not guarantee that the caps would not be lowered after they were elected. Theoretically they could use the legislation to replace Direct Action in the main for trading.

      What makes you say it was not voted on?

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      • #

        From the Kohler article:

        The legislation that included the Coalition’s ETS was passed by the Senate — with the support of both the ALP and the Greens — on its last day of sitting in 2015, in December.

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        • #
          TdeF

          Tabled in the Senate.

          National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Safeguard Mechanism) Rule 2015
          I, Greg Hunt, Minister for the Environment, make the following legislative rule.
          Dated 7 October 2015

          Greg Hunt
          Minister for the Environment

          Made 07 Oct 2015
          Registered 08 Oct 2015
          Tabled HR 12 Oct 2015
          Tabled Senate 12 Oct 2015

          This instrument is made under subsection 22XS(1) of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007.

          This act was already in place and active. This appears to be a set of administrative rules added by the minister, not a new act. A clarification on the execution of one of the thousands of Acts passed by the Rudd government and not able to be repealed, like everything else.

          It is not clear that the Senate need to do anything at all as it is a clarification of a Rudd act already in place. There is no mention of December 2015.

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        • #
          Peter C

          I think that Alan Kohler got that wrong.

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          • #
            el gordo

            Greg Hunt is a despicable zealot and Turnbull is no better, Alan Kohler got it right.

            Pauline Hanson is our Joan of Arc.

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          • #
            el gordo

            The minister’s CV.

            ‘Hunt was born in Melbourne and attended the Peninsula School. He went on to Melbourne Law School, where he won a prize for a final-year thesis he co-authored, titled A Tax to Make the Polluter Pay.’

            wiki

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          • #
            Peter C

            I found this in Hansard;
            http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fvotes%2F5b820253-0c5f-41a7-8de7-41ba3e00e44a%2F0035%22;src1=sm1

            DOCUMENTS

            The following documents were deemed to have been presented on 12 October 2015 :

            A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 —

            Goods and Services Tax: Application of Agency Arrangements to the Multi-Media Industry Determination (No. 33) 2015 [F2015L01579].

            Goods and Services Tax: Choosing to Account on a Cash Basis Determination (No. 39) 2015—representatives of incapacitated entities [F2015L01570].

            Goods and Services Tax: Classes of Recipient Created Tax Invoice Determination (No. 14) 2015 [F2015L01567].
            ……………..

            National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Safeguard Mechanism) Rule 2015 [F2015L01637].</

            There were about 100 documents. I have cut out most of them. It does not say what the voting was or even if a vote took place. It seems that a lot of legislation was bundled up and was deemed to have been presented to the parliament on 12 October 2015. Probably no one sees it unless they have been alerted.

            Nick Xenophon was all behind it unfortunately.

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  • #
    Peter C

    My comment #8 is in moderation. I hope not for too long. I put the blame for the Carbon Tax on Greg Hunt.

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  • #
    richard ilfeld

    I know this is primarily a climate blog. Thus when discussing a carbon tax, there is focus on the carbon. But really, the focus might better be on the ‘tax’. I wager dollars to donuts or pounds to crumpets that a serious majority of the legislative lemmings in the US, Australia, the UK, the EU, or in outer flatland don’t, in their heart of heart, give a flying fig about ‘carbon’ or global warming, or most of the other cases they ride as rails to power. The fundamental of modern government is that the elites who therein reside believe they have a just and moral claim to a majority of the income and assets of the striving masses they spread their enlightened beneficence upon.

    Energy taxes are therefore not about energy. there are about taxes. For years we have had a gasoline tax here in the states. It has been fundamental for a long while that the liberal losers of the left who rail against the hydrocarbon producers for despoiling the earth have nonetheless taken more out each gallon’s worth of sales that the company earned profit. The taxes have been put into a “highway trust fund”. Anyone who is surprised that: firstly, the fund has gone for much beside highways, and secondly, there is no audit nor accounting for the expenditure needs to retake Government 101.

    This is precisely a “carbon tax”. In similar fashion, governments net far more from a carton of cigarettes than the tobacco companies, and far more from a beer than the brewer. The “payouts” on state lotteries are a small as the perps can get away with, and would not be legal under commercial gambling regulations. Heck, significant parts of law enforcement support themselves by confiscations from the bad guys. If they were all arrested (if the illegal traffic stopped) their revenue would dry up. Can you say “partners” in crime.

    There are a few governments in the world that are solvent, responsible, offer a good menu of moderately well run services, charge modest taxes, and tax out of ones life to a good degree.

    The rest are bankrupt monopolies that act like the classic monopolistic model (that they all purport to fight lick the dickens with regulation — do ya notice a pattern here?) — take more money, provide fewer services of a diminishing quality with a more authoritarian role in the marketplace.

    If there were no potential for taxation, and the crony capitalistic cash flows from alternative energy projects, CAGW would be no more interesting to politicians than wildflowers.

    SO with your ‘carbon tax’ I’ll wager. A stand-in for “we in government need to allocate a greater share of resources than we now do and are desperately seeking a good emotional lever to accomplish same”.

    I’m in my usual election season funk: A POX UPON THEM ALL.

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    richard ilfeld

    ‘fight like the dickens’ among other errors. sorry, it’s early here.

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    pat

    there seems to be some misunderstanding about Farage giving up Ukip leadership, so here’s the detail, incl how he stays in the European Parliament “until Britain officially cuts ties with Brussels” etc:

    4 Jul: UK Daily Mail: Nigel Farage QUITS as Ukip leader and declares: ‘I’ve done my bit… now I want my life back’
    As he announced his resignation this morning, which came as a surprise to many, he said he wasn’t a ‘career politician’ and decided now was the right time to step aside, but will continue in his role as an MEP until Britain officially cuts ties with Brussels…
    And he appeared to leave the door open to returning to lead the party ‘if we do not get a satisfactory Brexit deal’ by 2020, saying: ‘Watch this space’…
    “I will continue to support the party, I will support the new leader, I will watch the renegotiation process in Brussels like a hawk and perhaps comment in the European Parliament from time to time.”…
    ‘I’m also very keen to help the independence movements that are springing up in other parts of the European Union, because I’m certain of one thing – you haven’t seen the last country that wants to leave the EU…
    Yesterday Mr Farage joined Rupert Murdoch, Liam Fox and a host of others at a garden party for Britain’s rich and powerful.
    Pictured wearing extraordinary Union Flag shoes, the trio socialised at a garden party hosted by billionaire Evgeny Lebedev at his London mansion, and it was captured by Lily Allen who was also at the event…
    Mr Murdoch was seen deep in conversation with Dr Fox, the pro-Brexit campaigner who is one of five Tory MPs vying to be the next prime minister…
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3673363/Nigel-Farage-QUITS-Ukip-leader-declaring-ve-bit.html

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    steve

    the worst labor politician ever to lead the liberals, would someone please kick him off the table

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    Robert R

    Because of this election we are now so close to even more monstrous carbon taxes and their equivalent in this country than we have now and have had. Action on climate change will become endemic in this country if Shorten gets in and he will not try to disguise or hide it.
    Also a huge problem will be how increases in power costs due to a gigantic shift to renewables will damage so much already squeezed industry. Then the new power brokers (like Xenophone) will demand and get government financial support for these industries like the South Australian steel industry. Taxpayers will be taxed ever more to cover these subsidies to these ‘climate change damaged industries’. Climate change damaged from unviable running costs, not heat, not wind nor rain and not from cyclones.
    Visualise the 50 billion for inefficient sub building already. These subsidies are quasi carbon taxes because renewable energy made them necessary and renewable energy is a scam.

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    Joe Lalonde

    Jo,

    What I have found and seen of our political leaders, is they cannot lead anymore. They want to follow American policies and do not want to decide on decisions to help their individual countries.
    So, all of our countries are in economic crisis without any leadership to change that direction…mostly due to the adverse economic consequences that the US will effect on our currencies.

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      clive

      If Tump gets in,we may see big changes,which the “Elites”may not like.

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        pattoh

        The trouble is I have a nagging suspicion that Trump may turn out to be an un-witting reprise of the Teddy Bear – Bull Moose & by a split in the Republican vote keep the US under Elite CFR Puppeteers.

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    AndyG55

    From BoltA.. The One Nation policy on climate change

    Hanson’s main climate policy is brilliant. Here it is (points re-ordered somewhat):

    Hold a Royal Commission (or similar) into the corruption of climate science and identify whether any individual or organisation has misled government to effect climate and energy policy.

    Remove all subsidies and financial advantages offered to the renewable energy industry and make them compete on an even playing field with other energy sources.

    Support reliable, low-cost power generation. This has previously been Australia’s strongest competitive advantage.

    Establish an independent Australian science body replacing the UN IPCC to report on climate science. It will be the beyond politicisation and be the basis of Australian policy on insurance and response to weather events.

    One Nation will oppose all taxes levied on carbon dioxide, be it a flat carbon tax or a floating emissions trading scheme…

    Abolish the Renewable Energy Target (RET) and support practical cost-effective research into energy efficiency, reliability and dependability.

    Cancel all agreements obliging Australia to pay for foreign Climate Action and payment to the United Nations and foreign institutions…

    Remove from the education system the teaching of a one-sided view of climate science. Teaching of climate science will begin in secondary school and will be based on the scientific method of scepticism until proven.

    I agree with EVERY one of these. They are LOGICAL and COMMON-SENSE.

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      aussiepete

      Can we ask Jo to hop on a plane to Brisbane and apply for the job as Pauline’s Climate Change Advisor. I for one will hit the tip jar on a regular basis if that’s needed.Pauline may well be the influence that can prevent our Country becoming awash with windmills.

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        aussiepete

        I’m serious about this. Pauline Hanson may be what is needed to bang some pollies heads together and start getting some sense into the Parliament on climate change. She probably needs support on the science, encouragement to stand up to what will be enormous pressure and ridicule and maybe a bit of financial as well. Moves should be made before the UN takes her out to lunch or other pressures are brought bear. How do we go about this?

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    handjive

    Who will “Axe Turnbull’s Carbon (sic) Tax”?

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    dannz

    I could never understand why Abbott kept Hunt on the payroll. It was obvious that Hunt was a closet Greenie, look at his statements over the years. Hunt wins an Olympic Gold for treachery.

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      el gordo

      Exactly a year ago Hunt had the backing of others in the Ministry and he fought off an attempt to dislodge him.

      ‘A cabal of regional and rural Liberal members, centred in Western Australia and supported by a number of conservative MPs, will force a vote at Saturday’s federal council meeting in Melbourne on whether Parliament should “examine the evidence” around climate change before agreeing to any post-2020 emissions cuts.

      ‘Liberal sources told Fairfax Media that Environment Minister Greg Hunt is likely to be forced to step in and fight off the motion on Saturday by asserting the Abbott government accepts climate change is real and is willing to work with other nations to combat its effects.’

      Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/un-climate-conference/abbott-and-hunt-confronted-by-anticlimate-science-push-from-within-liberal-party-20150624-ghwuzg.html#ixzz4DVD2d2zN
      Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook

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        What a difference in only one year. I can hope the the true intentions of the Climate Clown Cabal are finally brought out to light for the whole world and punished in a spectacular fashion.

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    handjive

    (via emails)

    In the last Senate we had a right wing Wang and a left wing Wong.
    Now we’ve got a Sarah Hanson Young and Pauline Hanson Old.
    You couldn’t make this stuff up.

    Youtube: Failed Press Gallery predictions of 2016 Federal election result compilation

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    Egor TheOne

    Mr Goldman And Sachs of BS, has been outflanked by Carbon Bill union lackey yellin’ ‘Austraya’ from the back of a ute.

    What a disgrace!

    The Turncoat needs to be shown the door in ‘Bums Rush Fashion’, along with True B’lver, Paris and UN climate sign away our rights shysters, Hunt and Bishop.

    Bring back Abbott and his Chief of Staff Credlin to lead the coalition back to where it should be….in control with a big majority.

    Then again why would Abbott or Credlin want to go through all that crap again from such ungrateful backstabbers?

    If he did (they did),the first agenda should be the privatization and/or the defunding of the State Propaganda Marxist Conglomerate…. The A(lpgreens)BC.

    Let all the BSers there fund there own propaganda.

    Next , a 100% shutdown/total defunding of anything and anyone to do with the CAGW scam.

    That is no state funding to a religion, no co2 taxes, no ETS’s(co2 taxes under a different name), no direct action, no climate (scam) authorities, no money at all going towards the Unelected Nutters, and in fact tear up all agreements with these New World Disorder Wanabes!

    If not, then we may as well start training for the national and international ‘GooseStep’ NOW.

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    William

    The damage done to both the Liberal party and Australia by Turnbull gives a lot of credibility to the theory that he is the Labor party’s Manchurian candidate.
    As a case in point: the once in a lifetime opportunity presented by the Royal Commission into Union Corruption.
    Turnbull has buried it without a trace.
    Who benefits from that?
    Ditto the Carbon Tax.
    The corruption in Australia makes third world dictators cry in envy.

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    Ray

    Many say that politically correct Malcolm Turnbull is Labor-lite.

    It is indeed puzzling that he is still tolerated in the Coalition. He should be expelled in the national interest.

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    Ray

    “Turnbull ran a dead in the water campaign without any policies except a tax on superannuation which was anaethema to his Liberal supporters. Why did he run dead on so many Liberal issues like a Carbon tax, boat people, terrorism, law and order, small government, lower taxation?”:

    And what about dysfunctional unions, and the reason for holding the double dissolution? The first time I heard him give the reason was during his post poll grudge speech.

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