One multibillion dollar fund for renewable energy and a review of fuel taxes will prove to be crux concessions for green lobbyists from the government in exchange for agreeing to spare petrol from price of carbon.
With the full pollution price package pending announcement in the coming days, Julia Gillard promised petrol would be let go.
She said:
”The design of this scheme is that petrol pricing will be out now and out for the future,’
The exemption, however, will only apply to lighter vehicles used by motorists cars and trades people, as well as small businesses and not necessarily to heavier commercial vehicles like big trucks, grrrr,grrrr, zroooom!
Tony Sheldon, national secretary of the Transport Workers Union has blasted the government for being obsessed with the carbon tax, saying that it risks wasting more of the Labor heartland unless ”it shows signs of life in other policy areas”.
Mr Sheldon fears the cost pressures on the transport industry created by the carbon price, would simply increase pressure on truck drivers already forced to meet ”impossible deadlines” and waiting for promised government measures to assuage this.
Usually, if fuel were to be subject to this carbon price, it would be levied at the refinery stage with refiners dishing out money for emissions and then passing on the cost at the pump.
The government will explain this week how it wants to exempt petrol, however, differentiate among road users.