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end times .....
Tony Abbott has vowed to fight Labor's carbon tax to his "last breath". But as he takes his campaign on the road, facts are taking the wind out of some of his arguments.
On Monday, touring a Peabody-owned coalmine in the Hunter Valley, he insisted that the Gillard government should apologise for the tax that would "badly damage" the future of coalmining in Australia and "discourage investment" in it.
Just hours later Peabody Energy and ArcelorMittal launched the biggest-yet takeover offer for an Australian coalmine with a $4.7 billion bid for Macarthur Coal. Yesterday share prices rose for most Australian coalminers.
Yesterday the Opposition Leader was rapidly but unconvincingly, changing tack, claiming the bid - higher than a previous offer in April last year - was a sign of an overseas competitor trying to eat up a "weakened" Aussie firm.
He also claimed that the government's own figures showed that coal was ''a goner'', citing the proportion of coal-fired power forecast in Australia's domestic energy mix. Yet the Treasury modelling actually predicts the coal export industry will prosper, with coal production forecast to more than double by 2050.
Before Sunday's announcement Mr Abbott was insisting that the new tax would wipe steel towns such as Whyalla "off the map". When two major steelmakers - BlueScope and OneSteel - praised the final package on Sunday, he shifted his argument again.
- By John Richardson at 13 Jul 2011 - 11:14am
- John Richardson's blog
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"knuckles" preferred prime minister .....
Retailers say the hysteria being whipped up by the opposition is every bit as damaging as the confusion about how a price on carbon will operate and affect people. ''I wish it would just extinguish itself,'' said one retail lobbyist of the debate.
Another factor, which politicians shy away from, is online shopping. The issue exploded earlier this year when retailers expressed concern that online purchases from overseas valued at less than $1000 are GST exempt. They want the threshold lowered to level the playing field.
Gillard refused, saying it was advocating higher prices by extending the reach of the GST. The government did, however, call a Productivity Commission inquiry.
The retailers have formed Fair Imports Alliance, headed by Brad Kitschke, who is the executive director of the Australian Sporting Goods Association, which represents such companies as adidas, Asics, Foot Locker and Rebel Sport.
Kitschke once worked for a Labor minister in South Australia and is an ALP member. He argues this has no bearing on his current role and points out many lobby and industry groups have spokespeople who once worked for the Liberals or are members of that party as well. ''It's never an issue that some of those people are, or have been, Liberals,'' he said.
His role as a retail lobbyist has not stopped him being critical of the government and lobbying the opposition for help. Kitschke was, however, dismayed following a meeting in Abbott's office on May 31.
According to emails, he was told that in return for a sympathetic hearing on the GST and internet sales, his sporting goods association would have to come out against the carbon tax.
''All was fine until [Abbott's adviser] went a bit crazy and told us that we couldn't come to them and argue for a lower threshold unless we had a public position to oppose the carbon tax and its detrimental effects on business,'' Kitschke wrote.
''He turned into a bit of a psycho about the carbon tax and was basically saying that they wouldn't do anything for us unless we jumped on the Abbott bandwagon re carbon tax and followed up with an email after.''
Dirty tricks in the carbon wars