Where are we at with the carbon tax?

Now that Australia has a new federal government, where are we at with the carbon tax, and how will it impact VASA members?

According to Executive Director of Refrigerants Australia, Greg Picker, we are unlikely to see any changes until at least July next year when the new Senate first sits. The existing Senate appears set to block any moves by the government to repeal the tax.

“Refrigerants Australia supports the repeal of a carbon price on HFC refrigerants, but has warned the government about dropping the price too quickly,” Mr Picker said.

“Instead of an immediate removal of the carbon price, we recommend that transition arrangements are put in place to remove the price progressively – by averaging the reductions out over a two year period.

“Removing it too quickly will have an adverse impact on our industry, potentially leading to bankruptcies amongst small businesses.”

Mr Picker said if consumers saw significant and immediate price reductions, they could delay air conditioning maintenance work in the hope of future reductions.

“This delay is likely to be significantly disruptive to low margin, highly exposed small businesses and may cause them to lay off staff or go bankrupt,” he said.

Refrigerants Australia has presented the new government with a detailed submission outlining its recommendations.

VASA, a long-term member of Refrigerants Australia, supports the organisation’s proposal to government about a floating average for carbon pricing and will keep our members informed of its progress.

Refrigerants Australia is the peak organisation representing Australian refrigerant suppliers and users. Click here for more information about the organisation.

Click here for a copy of Refrigerants Australia: Submission on Repeal of the Carbon Price presented to government.