Australia Shows Sanity At The Petrol Pump – When Will We?

The Government should immediately take the lead of Australian Prime Minister Hon Julia Gillard and exclude petrol, diesel and all other motor fuels from the Emissions Trading Scheme following Ms Gillard’s announcement that petrol would not be touched by a carbon tax, ACT New Zealand Parliamentary Leader Hon John Boscawen said today.

“Prime Minister John Key said that New Zealand would not be world leaders in climate change policy but ‘fast followers’. Following Ms Gillard’s announcement, made during an ABC interview yesterday, now is the time for New Zealand to do just that; follow,” Mr Boscawen said.

“Ms Gillard said “petrol prices will not be touched by carbon pricing” and to avoid any ambiguity went on to say “we are not going to have petrol included in the scheme, now or in the future”. If Australia’s Labor Prime Minister has the economic sense to exempt fuel from their carbon tax then it should be easy for National to do the same for New Zealand’s ETS.

“Petrol should be excluded from the ETS. This would save Kiwis around seven cents a litre at the pump by 2013. The fact that agricultural gasses are currently exempt from the ETS shows that common sense exemptions are most definitely feasible.

“ACT has opposed the ETS tooth and nail from day one – and will continue to – but if National is not willing to show sense and scrap the scheme altogether the least they should do is exclude fuel and ensure that Kiwis do not pay for the scheme’s madness at the pump,” Mr Boscawen said.

ENDS

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