Renewable Energy Target (RET) Tax

Two Big Climate Taxes

The carbon tax is the Big New Tax pushing up Australian electricity prices. But there is also a Big Old Tax, the insidious Renewable Energy Target (RET) Tax, introduced by the Howard government.

The RET Tax forces electricity retailers to buy a rising proportion of their power from expensive “renewables” such as wind and solar. It has already caused massive increases in the price of electricity. Surely we can learn from Europe – wind and solar energy will escalate our power costs, destroy other industries, waste scarce capital, destabilise the power network, uglify the countryside with mirrors, towers and pylons and, when everything is counted, may not reduce the use of carbon fuels, and certainly will not improve the climate.

Tony Abbott is right to promise abolition of the ALP’s carbon tax, and he must also abolish that other devious climate tax, the RET tax.

Both are unnecessary, unjustified, costly and pernicious.

It is not wicked power companies who have caused electricity prices to soar – it is wicked politicians with Two Big Climate Taxes.

Viv Forbes

Viv Forbes Viv Forbes Most recent columns Viv Forbes, Chairman,The Carbon Sense Coalition, has spent his life working in exploration, mining, farming, infrastructure, financial analysis and political commentary. He has worked for government departments, private companies and now works as a private contractor and farmer. Viv has also been a guest writer for the Asian Wall Street Journal, Business Queensland and mining newspapers. He was awarded the “Australian Adam Smith Award for Services to the Free Society” in 1988, and has written widely on political, technical and economic subjects. Viv can be reached at: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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