The Gillard Government has abandoned rural and regional Australia with North Queensland families paying through the nose for Labor’s Carbon Tax. “The carbon tax will hurt North Queensland families in so many ways:-

• higher prices for everything with doubtful compensation
• higher energy costs for food and meat processors that will be passed back to growers or markets will be lost and threatened by imports
• only a short reprieve before transport excise rebates are cut, adding costs to everything transported to and from North Queensland
• higher costs on aviation fuel for everything flying in or out of North Queensland and
• state hospitals, schools and road building programs to be hit by higher costs.”
“This all adds up to less food security, less power security and a diminished competitiveness that will undermine the viability of Australian primary production and industry.”
“Small and medium sized businesses will suffer particularly hard as there is no compensation for them. The government assumes they will simply pass on their higher costs to their customers, but many small businesses will not be able to stay in the market and compete if their costs go up.”

“Sugarcane growers in North Queensland will face an $81 million slug over the next 5 years with the average sugarcane growers facing hikes of around $20,000 or 4.7% of running costs over a five year period. With world demand for food production up, the Government’s carbon tax is threatening the livelihood of 4000 Australian sugarcane growers competing against countries such as Brazil and Thailand who will have no such impost.” 
 “An average abattoir processing 3000 cattle a week will see its electricity bill increased by a quarter of a million dollars in the first year. This is without considering other cost increases and the impacts of gas which will also rise by 9%.”
“On top of these processing costs farmers also face rising costs from increased input prices, such as electricity, fertiliser and chemicals. Income Tax increases of between 10 and 27%, in the lower and medium brackets, will also hit farmers who are finally making some income after years of drought.”

“The Australian Trucking Association estimates that a carbon tax on the trucking sector will cost the industry and its customers $510 million in 2014-15 alone. Transport companies will pass on the costs of a carbon tax to their customers. This will mean higher costs for all products (note that trucks transported 277 million tonnes of food and live animals in the year ended 31 October 2007, which is the latest available data).”
“The aviation sector is being slogged with a near tripling in the excise on aviation fuel. This cost increase will inevitably lead to the end of many regional air services, which generally operate on lower margins.”

“The Australasian Railway Association says the industry will take a $100m hit per year.”
“Shipping Australia says the industry will take a $4 million hit.”
 “Housing costs are expected to soar by some $5,000 for every new home.”
Senator Boswell said that even the costs of not-for-profit, charity and voluntary organisations would go up as a result of Labor’s carbon tax.  “They have electricity costs that will go up. That means more fundraising to maintain the same level of service.”

“All Labor’s Carbon Tax will do is hurt families, small business and farmers and provide a free kick to our major competitors Canada, South Africa, Thailand and Russia.” 

ENDS