Claims by the Minister for Climate Change Greg Combet that agriculture will be exempt from the impact of a carbon tax are totally misleading Senator Boswell said today.

Animal emissions may be excluded from a carbon tax but farming and agriculture will be caught up in a carbon tax on every level, from increased costs on fuel and gas used in tractors and in freight vehicles; increased costs of getting product to the processor and electricity used for conveyer belts. For every increase of $10 of a carbon tax, fuel prices will increase by 2.5c per litre.

The dairy industry will be hit particularly hard by a carbon tax with each farm incurring a bill of between $6000-$9000 according to the Australian Dairy Council.

The Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency’s Greenhouse and Energy Reporting paper lists the amount of CO2 emissions the following agricultural companies are emitting. When those figures are multiplied by a $25 carbon tax, the costs are astounding.

These companies will have to pass on the costs of this carbon tax back to producers - there is no way they can absorb it all.

For the Gillard Government to introduce a carbon tax when may other countries such as the US, Canada, France, Japan and India are backing away from their previous commitments is totally irresponsible and comes at a time when rural Australia can least afford to absorb these massive costs due to the high Australian dollar. The European Union’s ETS excludes all agriculture. 

The introduction of a carbon tax is a meaningless gesture that will have no measurable environmental gains.

ENDS