The Territory should be given a 50 year exemption from the proposed carbon emissions tax, a Territory politician says.
Country Liberals backbencher David Tollner said the Territory Government needed to start lobbying Canberra for the exemption - “at least until the rest of the world agrees on a global emissions reduction system”.
Federal Finance Minister Penny Wong this week said the details of the carbon tax would not be finalised until after the budget because the government was still in consultation with business and stakeholder groups.
“I know exactly how Canberra works,” Mr. Tollner said. “If you’re not in there fighting for every scrap, you miss out.”
Mr. Tollner said the Territory was still economically undeveloped.
“We deserve the same fair go as other undeveloped economies,” he said.
Mr. Tollner said Territorians were also the world’s smallest polluter “per square kilometer.”
The Federal Government is already considering an appeal from the LNG industry for a reduced carbon tax. But the Greens have warned this would lead to other claims for special treatment.
Mr. Tollner said a carbon price would hit Territorians harder than other Australians.
“Unlike those who live in Toorak in Melbourne or Potts Point in Sydney, where you can walk everywhere, drive two minutes to the shops and catch the bus or train to work, many in the Territory have to use trucks, cars, planes and machinery to run their lives.”
Chief Minister Paul Henderson yesterday would not comment on Mr. Tollner’s statement. But he previously supported the move for a carbon price, but said it must not come at a higher cost to Territorians.
“I won’t sign up to a scheme that leaves Territory families worse off because southern states have failed to adopt cleaner, greener forms of power generation as we have in the NT.”
