Carbon Tax The Best Way Forward

Look, if we are worried about funding the liability - introduce a carbon tax now. You would only need to charge $2-3 a tonne to cover the $500 million that we are being told is the current liability. In 2005 NZ emitted 77 million tonnes of carbon equivalent. Lets say we introduce a tax at the next budget of $3 per tonne. That will raise $231 million in the first year. By year two we will have fully covered our supposed liability. Just in case Treasury has got the figures wrong we have year three up our sleeves. $3 per tonne is not going to affect the viability of industry, particularly if it is offset against other taxes.