Can you explain this double standard on carbon tax and additional coal mining....?

The Australian Government is about to announce a carbon tax,in response to growing demands to act on Climate Change and reduce carbon emissions.
The coal industry in Australia is concerned that this tax on their business can lead to job loses,mine closures and reduced investment,
But...the Prime Minister,Julia Gillard, has assured them...
"I am absolutely confident the coal industry has got a fantastic future in this nation - a future of growing jobs with $70 billion of investment in the coming pipeline."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/07/06/3262698.htm?section=justin

Australia is the world's leading exporter of coal.

If the coal industry has this "fantastic future",surely that means that Australia will export MORE ,polluting, climate changing coal,releasing ever more CO2 into the atmosphere.

Of course it will be our developing economy trading partners doing the polluting..not Australia

Does anyone else see the hypocrisy of Australia espousing the evil of coal and it's CO2, taxing it's output to appease the climate change adherents,and shipping this "pollutant" overseas for others to pollute the atmosphere?

Could their cynicism be any more transparent?

2011-07-07T00:52:07Z

@ Hey Dook...there are a number of differences. Only the smoker and the drinker pays the tax for their addiction. Carbon tax will be borne by all. While smoking and drinking remain legal, they will be taxed just like any other pastime..even going to the movies attracts tax. I was highlighting the hypocrisy of taxing the coal industry, with the apparent intent reducing the use of coal, then encouraging it to export it's product overseas. Where is the intended global CO2 reduction in this procedure?

2011-07-08T00:33:23Z

@ Hey Dook....Put your economics book away. Australia is introducing a carbon tax in response to pressure to reduce CO2 emissions. You may have heard of something called the Kyoto Protocol. There may be a number of reasons why taxes are introduced,but I am not ASSUMING the reason this carbon tax is being introduced. First and foremost to reduce CO2 emissions.

Anonymous2011-07-06T08:11:45Z

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Australia prospers through her mining work bringing quality, home-grown jobs and prosperity to her people... HOW DARE SHE?

Australia MUST be heavily taxed and heavily legislated with crippling red tape that can decimate her industry and her people so that the fairy tale of AGW may continue to be promoted.

Come on Australia, get with the program and start cutting those jobs, increase the tax burden and wreck your Country. Need help and advice? Ask the UK...

bubba2011-07-06T11:38:11Z

It does seem like politics. I would not expect a fantastic long-term future, unless they have figured out (or think hey can figure out) a way to make the coal produce less CO2 so their demand will be higher than their competitors. I would think the demand is pretty inelastic in the short term so demand won't change much. The tax is passed to those countries who burn a lot of coal (i.e. China). I would think the long term demand would decrease as companies started moving away from coal technology to cleaner forms of energy. Since this coal could go to nearby developing economies, this could take quite a while.

It does seem they have a plan to profit while clean energy is developed that seems pretty hypocritical and opportunistic, but it also eases the transition away from coal for Australia. It is hard to judge the effect. Depends on the response of those who use the coal and pay the tax.

JimZ2011-07-06T10:43:45Z

The left has a standard blueprint when it wants to tax something.
First pretend that their spending is absolutely vital while they play to people's guilt and make wild exaggerated claims such as orphaned children will starve without the funds.
Next they demonize whatever it is to soften up any opposition. That is why tobacco, alcohol, and oil companies are often portrayed as evil by the same entities that rely on their revenues.
When they destroy an industry and an economy and jobs, they blame greedy rich people and insufficient funds.
The greed of government bureaucracies is limitless.

Far more money is made by the US government from Tobacco than Phillip Morris. They can't grow, process or sell tobacco without Uncle Sam watching their every move and making money as Uncle Sam demonizes the very industry that it is milking for money. The duplicity is sickening. And so many alarmists just gobble it all up hook line and sinker.

Anonymous2011-07-07T06:01:54Z

Bite the hand that feeds you. Rob Peter to pay Paul. Steal from the rich and give to the poor, but skim a little off the top. Business as usual. Legalized crime. There's no duplicity, at least not in their minds. They allow something that they consider repugnant to continue as long as they get their cut. It's not extortion, it's government at its best.

Rio2011-07-06T11:51:18Z

The only apparent correlation is a post Kyoto (2012). No modern develop country other then EU and Australia is willing to make concessions. It's an obscure tangent based on GNP.

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