By Andrew Bolt ~
Treasury is peddling a green lie that pads out Labor’s budget:
Leading economist Henry Ergas has described the budget projections as “garbage” and opposition climate action spokesman Greg Hunt has warned the government is exposed to a $6 billion black hole.
The attack is based on an explanation in the budget papers from Treasury that “carbon prices in the budget projection years are not forecasts of carbon prices”.
Instead they represent a straight line drawn between market prices in 2014-15 (about $5.60) to the $38 projection [in 2019-20] contained in Treasury modelling for the government’s initial carbon scheme…
Treasury explained the $38 figure is not a forecast of the market price in 2019-20 but “the price levels required to meet long-term global environmental goals as well as the international commitment pledges for 2020”.
The government was forced to write down $5.3bn in revenue in the budget in 2015-16 … after cutting the projected carbon price to $12.10 from the $29 projected a year earlier…
The carbon price is fixed until 2015 when it reverts to a floating price and the scheme is linked to the EU scheme.The writedown was sparked by a collapse in the EU carbon scheme. The Treasury modelling assumes a $5.60 carbon price for 2014-15 rising by $6.50 to $12.10 in 2015-16. It is then forecast to rise by $6.50 every year until 2019-20.
There is almost zero likelihood of the world imposing a carbon price of $38 just six years from now. Europe’s price is closer to $4 today and its economy is unlikely to be strong enough for much more for many years to come. You are being deceived by green fantasists who believe their own bull.
Here’s just one sign that the political will for expensive green schemes is in fact collapsing. Green freeloaders are finally to be made to pay for their own warm fuzzies:
AUSTRALIA’S one million rooftop solar households could be forced to pay new fixed charges to help recover billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies and make electricity prices fairer for all consumers.
A series of electricity industry reports has highlighted the inequity in existing power pricing where customers without solar panels are unfairly subsidising those with them.
Queensland Energy Minister Mark McArdle has warned that existing rooftop solar contracts will cost the state more than $2.8 billion over the next 15 years and is preparing a major submission to cabinet within a month recommending more user-pays charges.
Andrew Bolt is a journalist and columnist writing for The Herald Sun in Melbourne Victoria Australia.
Andrew Bolt’s columns appear in Melbourne’s Herald Sun, Sydney’s Daily Telegraph and Adelaide’s Advertiser. He runs the most-read political blog in Australia and hosts Channel 10’s The Bolt Report each Sunday at 10am. He is also heard from Monday to Friday at 8am on the breakfast show of radio station MTR 1377, and his book Still Not Sorry remains very widely read.
Read more excellent articles from Andrew Bolt’s Blog . http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/
