RIP Carbon Tax: what this means
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Round of applause as repeal bill is passed after 60 hours of debate
Votes: 39 for, 32 against
Opposition vows to fight on
THE Carbon tax is dead.

After almost 60 hours of debate, the Senate finally passed Tony Abbott’s repeal bills this morning.

A small applause rang through the Senate when the final vote was read out at 11.15am. The bill was passed with 39 in the affirmative and 32 against.

CARBON TAX: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

But the Opposition claimed it would keep up the fight for a national emissions trading scheme.

The Greens leader Christine Milne accused the cross bench Senators who voted with the government of staining their own political legacy.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott released a statement after the vote, claiming that scrapping the tax was the “foundation of the Government’s Economic Action Strategy”.

“Scrapping the Carbon Tax will save the average family $550 a year. You’ll see the benefits in coming power bills,’ he said.

“In keeping with our election policy, the Government’s consumer watchdog, the ACCC, has been given the funding and power to ensure that savings are passed on to consumers.
“Scrapping the Carbon Tax will also take a cost burden off Australian businesses – this will make it easier for them to compete and create more jobs.”

Greens leader Christine Milne accused the government of casting Australia back into the stone age.

“This is a critical moment for our nation,” she said.

“We will be a global pariah…and a backwater,” Ms Milne said.

“It is also a failure to understand the future will be powered by renewable energy.”

Labor Senator Lisa Singh said before the vote that it would mark a fundamental change in Australia – that it was now going backwards.

“We will not stand with the government. We will stand with the scientists and economists. We are voting for the future of our children.”

Despite the threat of after-hours detention, senators did not rush to pass the amendment with debate going for hours yesterday.

“After about 40 hours of debate in relation to these measures in this place we still don’t have a resolution,” government Senate Leader Eric Abetz railed in question time.

The cabinet minister left to handle the filibuster was Mathias Cormann, who eventually stopped answering the onslaught of questions from irate opposition senators.

Soon big companies will stop paying a penalty on carbon emissions, currently just over $25 a tonne, ending Australia’s most controversial policy implementation since the 2003 decision to join the Iraq invasion.

The carbon price element will be removed from household electricity expenses, and power company bills will itemise the savings. New laws demand savings be passed on to customers or a utility would have to pay a fine equal to 250 per cent of the reduction.

Politically, the repeal allows Prime Minister Abbott to boast he has completed two of his three major election pledges — to “axe the tax” and to “stop the boats”. The third was to repair the Budget.

“Scrapping the Carbon Tax will save the average family $550 a year. You’ll see the benefits in coming power bills,’ he said.

 Frazzled wrote:
Wait I thought Amercians were evil for being carbon demons. You mean, like everyone else is evil too?

 streamdragon wrote:

“Scrapping the Carbon Tax will save the average family $550 a year. You’ll see the benefits in coming power bills,’ he said.

I have a bridge to sell anyone that believes this for even a second. The only people seeing savings from this will be power company executives, who will spend the money on extra money hats, hookers and blow.

“In keeping with our election policy, the Government’s consumer watchdog, the ACCC, has been given the funding and power to ensure that savings are passed on to consumers.

 LordofHats wrote:
I never got the point of carbon taxes. As in I get what they're supposed to do, but I've never seen any reason to believe they'd actually work. Feels like one of those things that people do to pretend their making a difference when really they're not doing anything at all.

Kind of like that whole ethanol in our gas thing. That one sure is working out

 Frazzled wrote:
Wait I thought Amercians were evil for being carbon demons. You mean, like everyone else is evil too?

And once again, China is beating us!

Spoiler:

 whembly wrote:

 streamdragon wrote:

“Scrapping the Carbon Tax will save the average family $550 a year. You’ll see the benefits in coming power bills,’ he said.

I have a bridge to sell anyone that believes this for even a second. The only people seeing savings from this will be power company executives, who will spend the money on extra money hats, hookers and blow.

Did you miss this part?

“In keeping with our election policy, the Government’s consumer watchdog, the ACCC, has been given the funding and power to ensure that savings are passed on to consumers.

The question, indeed, is how effective ACCC in Oz?

Opposition vows to fight on

PhantomViper wrote:


Yes, I've heard that the smog caused by pollution is really lovely this time of year in Beijing. And those breather masks that everyone is forced to wear really compliment people's eyes!

 MrDwhitey wrote:
Tony Abbot is my favourite person ever.

I lied about him being my favourite.

And him being a person.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

Opposition vows to fight on

This is after:

Saying they wouldn't do it.
Then they did it.
Then they said they wouldn't get rid of it.
Then they promised that they would get rid of it.
Then they promised that they would fight to keep it.


Yeah, let's never trust them with anything ever again.

 streamdragon wrote:
The only people seeing savings from this will be power company executives, who will spend the money on extra money hats, hookers and blow.

 motyak wrote:
I honestly think we have a worse choice than the US does at the moment in terms of 2 party

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

 motyak wrote:
I honestly think we have a worse choice than the US does at the moment in terms of 2 party

Nah. We don't have one major party attempting to attach religious-based amendments about sex education, abortion and half a dozen totally-not-at-all-critical-to-the-national-interest things to everything.

 MrDwhitey wrote:
Tony Abbot is my favourite person ever.

I lied about him being my favourite.

And him being a person.

 LordofHats wrote:
I never got the point of carbon taxes. As in I get what they're supposed to do, but I've never seen any reason to believe they'd actually work. Feels like one of those things that people do to pretend their making a difference when really they're not doing anything at all.

Kind of like that whole ethanol in our gas thing. That one sure is working out

 Frazzled wrote:
Wait I thought Amercians were evil for being carbon demons. You mean, like everyone else is evil too?

And once again, China is beating us!

 Makaleth wrote:
3) The earth hasn't warmed in 16 years... what the! Why don't we hear more about this

 Makaleth wrote:
This is really a poor thread so far. No actual commentary and people calling names.

I for one am glad that it is gone for a few reasons:

1) We can talk about something else for once!
2) The impact of the Australian Scheme in the global scheme means nothing, unless China, India, USA and Europe do something... we don't get a special ribbon for going out in front (or a booby prize for joining late)
3) The earth hasn't warmed in 16 years... what the! Why don't we hear more about this
4) It was not an environmental issue, it was a trust issue... sadly... nothing is fixed here
5) We are a resource based, large land mass economy with high standard of living and costs of business... this hurts us more than most other countries.

 whembly wrote:


The question, indeed, is how effective ACCC in Oz?

 Makaleth wrote:
3) The earth hasn't warmed in 16 years... what the! Why don't we hear more about this

 Minx wrote:

 Makaleth wrote:
3) The earth hasn't warmed in 16 years... what the! Why don't we hear more about this

Is that relevant or even true?

 Soladrin wrote:

 Minx wrote:

 Makaleth wrote:
3) The earth hasn't warmed in 16 years... what the! Why don't we hear more about this

Is that relevant or even true?

No and no.

"Speaking after the vote, agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce said the tax had imposed high costs on families, and questioned whether it was needed, saying “look at the weather today, look at the way you are dressed, no one thinks it is too hot”

Government backbencher Ian Macdonald accused opposition parties of being hypocrites for refusing to accept the will of the voters and said that while he had “an open mind”, he would like to point out that Brisbane had recently had its coldest day in 113 years.

supermarkets and airlines are now saying consumers should not expect price reductions.

 Soladrin wrote:

 Minx wrote:

 Makaleth wrote:
3) The earth hasn't warmed in 16 years... what the! Why don't we hear more about this

Is that relevant or even true?

No and no.

 Corpsesarefun wrote:

 Makaleth wrote:
This is really a poor thread so far. No actual commentary and people calling names.

I for one am glad that it is gone for a few reasons:

1) We can talk about something else for once!
2) The impact of the Australian Scheme in the global scheme means nothing, unless China, India, USA and Europe do something... we don't get a special ribbon for going out in front (or a booby prize for joining late)
3) The earth hasn't warmed in 16 years... what the! Why don't we hear more about this
4) It was not an environmental issue, it was a trust issue... sadly... nothing is fixed here
5) We are a resource based, large land mass economy with high standard of living and costs of business... this hurts us more than most other countries.

I would like to hear more about number 3, it would be deeply concerning if in 1998 the earth suddenly ceased to warm itself.

 Minx wrote:

 Makaleth wrote:
3) The earth hasn't warmed in 16 years... what the! Why don't we hear more about this

Is that relevant or even true?

 whembly wrote:

 Corpsesarefun wrote:

 Makaleth wrote:
This is really a poor thread so far. No actual commentary and people calling names.

I for one am glad that it is gone for a few reasons:

1) We can talk about something else for once!
2) The impact of the Australian Scheme in the global scheme means nothing, unless China, India, USA and Europe do something... we don't get a special ribbon for going out in front (or a booby prize for joining late)
3) The earth hasn't warmed in 16 years... what the! Why don't we hear more about this
4) It was not an environmental issue, it was a trust issue... sadly... nothing is fixed here
5) We are a resource based, large land mass economy with high standard of living and costs of business... this hurts us more than most other countries.

I would like to hear more about number 3, it would be deeply concerning if in 1998 the earth suddenly ceased to warm itself.

 Minx wrote:

 Makaleth wrote:
3) The earth hasn't warmed in 16 years... what the! Why don't we hear more about this

Is that relevant or even true?

Sit down and stay awhile... this is some heavy readings.

The US' own NOAA reports no rise in overall temperature in almost a decade in the US, even trending overall cooling.

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/06/07/noaa-shows-the-pause-in-the-u-s-surface-temperature-record-over-nearly-a-decade/