Ambit carbon claims

One thing guaranteed in our Constitution is that if by the action of the federal Government someone or some company is out of pocket, then the Commonwealth is bound to pay fair compensation for their action to the people who are left out of pocket.

I think this needs to be taken into account when talking about the Carbon Trading Emissions handouts to the big polluters. The big polluters probably don’t expect to last that long operating coal fired power stations, especially the most polluting ones. If a large power station is to be closed down they would expect the taxpayers to wear it, as the Government buys out the power station at an inflated value PLUS possibly making a payout to make up for the lost Carbon Trading Handouts that they would have pocketed had the power station been kept puffing along. If they know that their power stations are unsustainable and not viable long term, I think it should be clear that they would not be entitled to be compensated for lost federal taxpayer handouts that would have been part of an Emissions Trading Scheme once they bail.

The issue goes way beyond the power industry. If the state is diverting taxpayer funds to provide handouts for the power industry, those public funds are taken directly away from every hospital and every school and the transport system for every Victorian. Last weekend’s paper had across the front page a story that the state is subsidising the power industry in Victoria to the tune of over 4 billion dollars. The crumbling public infrastructure and public services are a direct result of a lack of funds. We are still being taxed, and the public funds are still going somewhere. Only a few days ago another major story was that half of the deadly fires from Black Saturday were started by faulty power lines that had not been properly maintained. It is not just a matter of money, it affects our lives as well.