As the world gathers in Durban in an attempt to advance a new international climate change agreement, it is becoming very clear that there will be no consensus and that Australia will be very much alone with the introduction of an economy-wide carbon tax, Senator Boswell said.

No amount of spin by the Gillard Government can hide the truth, which is that many of our major trade competitors, Canada, the USA, Japan and New Zealand are walking away from a comprehensive carbon tax and are in fact phasing down their commitments to reduce carbon emissions.

This leaves Australian businesses at an international disadvantage as they carry the cost of a carbon tax with higher electricity costs.

“Any commercial or industrial user that thinks that their electricity bill is only going up by 10% with the introduction of a carbon tax as forecast by the Government is going to be bitterly disappointed,” Senator Boswell said.

The Institute of Public Affairs has released a carbon tax calculator which shows the true impact of the carbon tax on the price of electricity. This will be available from all Coalition Members and Senators.

The reality is that many commercial and industrial businesses will be hit by increases in electricity costs of anywhere between 20 per cent to 30 per cent and the mining industry will be hit hardest with larger increases.

These increases do not include the costs of renewable energy which add approximately another 7 per cent to electricity costs.

I have tested the carbon tax calculator on a number of businesses and spoken with a power company and the increases are anywhere between 20 and 30 per cent.

Using the Carbon tax Calculator a large business with significant cold rooms in South East Queensland found that their electricity costs would in fact rise by 21 per cent. They like many other businesses in Australia had been budgeting for an increase of 10 per cent.  They now face an increase of $600,000 on their annual electricity costs and this will be on top of the cost of permits for the top 500 Australian emitters.

These figures are consistent with other businesses that I have tested the carbon tax calculator.

The Gillard Government has misled the business community by telling them that electricity costs will increase only by 10%.  Businesses need to know what the true impact of this carbon tax will be, so that they can budget accurately.

As we brace for another flop in securing an international Climate change agreement in Durban it is all too clear that Bob Brown/Julia Gillard’s carbon tax will hurt business, increase electricity costs for all Australians while our competitors don’t face the penalty of a carbon tax.

ENDS

See the Carbon Tax Calculator here - www.carbontaxcalc.com