Thursday 14 July 2011

Carbon tax polarises town

: Tourism bodies have criticised the new carbon tax reform.

: TPDD boss Doug Ryan emailed members yesterday outlining his concerns.

by Mat Churchill

Tourism bodies have reacted negatively to the Government's announcement of a Carbon Tax, claiming that the already struggling industry will be further damaged by the reform.

An email from Tourism Port Douglas and Daintree and Daintree members sent yesterday highlighted the fears of our local tourism body. The email stated:

The average carbon tax increase as costed by Qantas will be $3.50 per person per flight sector. This will add a minimum of $14 million annually in travel costs for visitors to the Tropical North.
The cost of doing business for tourism operators in the Tropical North will increase as the majority of raw materials are transported into the region. These costs will be passed on to visitors and will add to the price of this destination eroding competitiveness. Those costs will be multiplied through the community, because of our well established economic reliance on tourism and air travel.
Another example of added costs to business is the suggested removal of part of the marine fuel rebate which will add further costs to many local businesses.
This tax will hit us harder than most destinations putting us at a greater competitive disadvantage than others, given our major competition for Australian holiday-makers are tropical destinations overseas. The carbon tax will effectively discourage domestic air travel while encouraging Australians to holiday overseas. The major casualty among Australia's tourism destinations will be the Tropical North. It is disappointing that the tourism industry has been discriminated against, considering the inequitable exclusion from the compensation afforded other industries.

However the email was not well received by all TPDD members with Coral Sea Villas manager, Toni Bennett, saying the message only contributes to the "scare campaign" Carbon Tax opponents are perpetuating.

"I am watching this debate with interest. I actually support the carbon tax, global warming I believe is more of a threat to the tourism industry in FNQ than the $3.50 per flight sector levied on travelers," she said.

"I do not support a scare campaign or a call for compensation at this stage without knowing the impact of this tax.

"I would ask that TTNQ (Tourism Tropical North Queensland) and TPDD stop putting out statements like 'This will add a minimum of $14 million annually in travel costs for visitors to the Tropical North.'

"This does not contribute to this important debate but is meant only to fuel fear. We do not yet know what impact this will have, let us have a responsible discussion and action.

"I am so tired of people putting their hand out for Government assistance for everything. We are creating this problem of carbon pollution and global warming so every person needs to take responsibility for it."

Meanwhile Port Douglas Chamber of Commerce president, Ken Dobbs, said there will be both positive and negative effects of the introduction of a carbon tax.

"From the Chamber point of view we saw that there is two sides to this story and one is about the environment and (our) future and the necessity to preserve things like the reef.

"We agreed that we would not come out to support the CCIQ position, but on the other hand we don't want to come and go the opposite way either."

Mr Dobbs added that his personal view, as opposed to that of the Chamber, was to support the carbon tax.

"The carbon tax is going to hurt me more than it hurts the average man because I'm a self-funded retiree and I'm not going to get any compensation by the look of it.

"I don't care because I think it's the right thing for the future and in fact the economists generally think it's the right thing for the future as well.

"I think it's just very greedy to say we don't want to pay any price now for something that might be of value to our children and grand children."

What do you think of the Government's Carbon Tax? Are you for it, against it, or is it too early to tell?

Have your say!

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Ian McDermott, 22-07-11 17:20:

(1) A carbon tax will have little or no impact on climate change, (2) at a time of economic uncertainty in Europe and the US, the carbon tax will make Australian black coking coal more expensive, making it more likely that our traditional regional customers will seek out cheaper brown coal for generating electricity; which is more polluting. The "big smoke stacks" you see on TV are giving off steam...

Rhona Eastment, 20-07-11 11:12:

Thank you Toni. We need more input from people of your awareness, to counteract the scare campaign by the conservatives, with their deliberate pedaling of miss-information. If those who oppose the initial carbon tax, which will lead to carbon trading, would only do some of thier own research from credible sources, rather than being influenced by the 'shock jocks' and vested interests, then perhaps the Government wold be able to get their message across. Basically, the tax will be applied to the polluters. We are not being taxed, and compensation for the flow-on has been backed by our economists. Direct Action is not accepted by scientists nor economists, and the Liberal/National parties would do well to show some bipartisanship on this issue, which will affect each and every one of us now and into the future.

susan , 16-07-11 16:39:

The carbon TAX is a political ploy, its a very bad joke. No TAX will change peoples habits, if you have holiday accommodation you will know that tourists do not use water conservatively, nor power - lights are left on all night, airconditioners run at max with doors and windows open, even in winter and they do not give a damn. The attitude is someone else will pay. Instead of a tax, if everyone planted a tree it would have more effect than any carbon tax - thats a fact. And locally the CRC could have some friendly worded stickers for holiday accom rooms to suggest that guests use water and power conservatively . Instead of putting more thought into remedies all the government seems to know is "tax them" and then move on to the next source of draining money from individuals. This will all catch up with us far too soon. Its sad to see a great country being destroyed by fools.

Will DEVLIN, 16-07-11 14:10:

Toni Bennett has hit the nail on the head superbly - both in her comments in the lead article and in her response above. The carbon tax - if one can put aside, for a moment, the broken 'promise' of the Prime Minister before last year's election - is an essential element of Australia's commitment to the world and of OUR commitment to our children and grandchildren. WE have created this monster called Global Warming - of that there is not the slightest doubt - so it is up to US to lead and correct the wrongs. I don't agree with everything the PM has put, I lament the 'broken promise', but I also accept nothing of what the Federal Opposition has to say in their scare campaign to rid the country- US - of its responsibility. Tony ABBOTT is moronic in his contempt of the ability to Australians to understand and accept their obligations, and Joe HOCKEY is defending the indefensible in his role as Shadow Treasurer - he would be Federal Opposition Leader if only for the fact that he agrees a Price on Carbon is 'the right thing'. Enough of the Scare Campaign from all quarters and more constructive commentary, please.

Toni Bennett, 14-07-11 11:25:

I was talking last night to a lovely lady about climate change and the carbon tax issue. She has very similar views to mine however I had a light bulb moment when she said WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO PAY for others polluting the planet. I realized then that most people think this is about pollution – spewing smoke stacks. I think most people fail to understand that global warming is about the amount of carbon dioxide being created and expelled into the atmosphere. People do not know that our lifestyle is contributing large amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere – they believe someone else ( with the big smoke stacks ) is responsible for the excess carbon.