Political Involvement
Year 10 Commerce Assessment Task: Political Involvement
Carbon Tax
Question 1: Identify and outline the nature of the issue you are researching. Include a description of this issue, why it has arisen and its impact on society.
The carbon tax is one of Australia’s biggest current political issues, the scheme itself was developed to help tackle climate change and help Australia environmentally. Carbon is present in all fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, and natural gas) and is released as carbon dioxide (CO2) when it is burnt. The CO2 is a greenhouse gas which traps heat when it is released into the atmosphere. On the 10th of July 2011, Julia Gillard announced a flat charge of $23 per ton of emissions to be levied on the top 500 polluters of the country. Due to government decision to exclude fuel from the scheme, the number is halved from 1000 polluters, the tax came into effect on the 1st of July 2012 and in 2015, the tax will be replaced by a full market-driven system, an emissions trading scheme which will control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. Fuel suppliers and distributors emitting synthetic greenhouse gas, including air-conditioning and refrigeration industries, are exempted from the tax.
The idea is to tax the big polluting companies in Australia for all the CO2 they produce, sounds good right? Make the big companies pay when they pollute and obviously they will stop polluting and turn to clean energy sources or at least pollute less right? So why are so many Australian citizens in opposition to this tax? Well firstly the companies getting taxed may not switch to clean and renewable energy sources as it is a costly process, they may instead just make us (the everyday Australian citizen) pay for the tax i.e. if they have to pay more to produce their products due to this carbon tax, they will just raise the price of the product for the consumer so they can maintain their profits. This in turn
Carbon Tax
Question 1: Identify and outline the nature of the issue you are researching. Include a description of this issue, why it has arisen and its impact on society.
The carbon tax is one of Australia’s biggest current political issues, the scheme itself was developed to help tackle climate change and help Australia environmentally. Carbon is present in all fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, and natural gas) and is released as carbon dioxide (CO2) when it is burnt. The CO2 is a greenhouse gas which traps heat when it is released into the atmosphere. On the 10th of July 2011, Julia Gillard announced a flat charge of $23 per ton of emissions to be levied on the top 500 polluters of the country. Due to government decision to exclude fuel from the scheme, the number is halved from 1000 polluters, the tax came into effect on the 1st of July 2012 and in 2015, the tax will be replaced by a full market-driven system, an emissions trading scheme which will control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. Fuel suppliers and distributors emitting synthetic greenhouse gas, including air-conditioning and refrigeration industries, are exempted from the tax.
The idea is to tax the big polluting companies in Australia for all the CO2 they produce, sounds good right? Make the big companies pay when they pollute and obviously they will stop polluting and turn to clean energy sources or at least pollute less right? So why are so many Australian citizens in opposition to this tax? Well firstly the companies getting taxed may not switch to clean and renewable energy sources as it is a costly process, they may instead just make us (the everyday Australian citizen) pay for the tax i.e. if they have to pay more to produce their products due to this carbon tax, they will just raise the price of the product for the consumer so they can maintain their profits. This in turn
Bibliography: http://www.alp.org.au/agenda/environment/carbon-price-mechanism/ http://www.liberal.org.au/Pages/Labors-Carbon-Tax.aspx http://www.nswnurses.asn.au/infopages/33521.html http://www.nswnurses.asn.au/multiattachments/33520/DocumentName/AMWU_Carbon_A3.pdf http://www.nff.org.au/read/2903/from-july-farmers-forced-wear-carbon.html Question 4: Develop a plan of action one lobby group would use to influence the government’s decision making process concerning the issue. Question 5: Give your own opinion on the issue you have researched. Explain your viewpoint. The political issue of the carbon-tax is indeed a controversial one that has been on the table for many years, once it was passed on July 1st it became a reality and Australians had to deal with it now no matter what.