Food prices set to rise under Gillard’s Carbon Tax
July 28, 2011
Local households and families are set to add at least $120 per week to the cost of their grocery bill thanks to the Carbon Tax, Dr Sharman Stone, Federal Member for Murray said today.
“Research from The Australian Food and Grocery Council says that the Carbon Tax will add this hike to household grocery bills. This is 3 times the amount of $40 claimed by the Gillard Government.
“We have been told by Treasury that food prices will rise less than 1 per cent under the carbon tax, and yet the Treasurer has been unable to explain by how much a single can of tomatoes will increase.
Unfortunately we have a Government with a long list of failed policies behind them. They are now playing with the everyday necessities of life and expect us to accept their calculations.
“Food prices have already increased 5 per cent in the first nine months of the Gillard Government, which has done nothing to cushion households from the spiralling cost of living. Unfortunately farmers did not see a 5% increase in their prices.
“The Carbon Tax will cascade all down the supply chain, from farming to food processing, from transport to storage, from refrigeration to lighting. Already the Australian Dairy Industry Council (ADIC), Australian Dairy Farmers (ADF) and Dairy Australia estimates that rising electricity, fuel and input costs will add between $5000-$7000 per anum to dairying costs,” Sharman Stone said.
“While the carbon price will start at $23 a tonne, after three years it will float with the market and go up and up and up. Labor’s own modelling reveals that the carbon price will increase to $37 a tonne in 2020 and over $350 a tonne in 2050.”
“The most outrageous thing about Labor’s carbon tax is that the pain inflicted upon us all will do nothing to improve Carbon emissions on the planet. Manufacturers like Heinz will simply head off shore, taking the jobs with them. When will this Government learn that they need to think about the long term implications of their short sighted policies and have a structured plan to protect both our environment and our peoples jobs.”
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