Federal election Fact Checker: Does Labor really want to introduce a carbon tax or is it all hot air?

There was more talk about transgender girls playing sport in the first half of this election campaign than the (literally) burning issue which reportedly matters most to Australians — climate change. According to the Lowy Institute’s 2021 Climate Poll, 60 per cent of Australians now say global warming is a significant and pressing problem. Last week, the c-word finally entered the election fray, though the exchanges so far have been heavy on theatre and light on perceptive argument. Climate science is complex, but what voters need to know about the major parties’ policies on the issue is quite straightforward. In a nutshell, both the Coalition and Labor are committed to net zero emissions by 2050. This means by mid-century the amount of carbon dioxide Australia removes from the atmosphere will have to be the same as, or more than, it emits. The key difference between the two parties is that Labor has an interim goal of a 43 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, whereas the Coalition has a smaller target of 26-28 per cent over the same period. By contrast, the Greens want us to reach net zero by 2035 at the latest. Both the Coalition and Labor policies fall well short of what of climate scientists say Australia needs to be doing to limit global heating to 2C above pre-industrial levels. The targets are also less ambitious than what some business and industry leaders would prefer. So what was the squabbling about? Scene One: Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday accused Labor of planning to introduce a “sneaky carbon tax”. This followed similar comments by Whitehaven Coal CEO Paul Flynn one day earlier. Both Mr Morrison and Mr Flynn were alluding to a “safeguard mechanism” which will require the country’s biggest polluters to maintain their net emissions below a specified threshold. If they go over their limits they have to buy offsets. As part of the strategy, Labor, under advice from the Clean Energy Regulator, plans to gradually lower the thresholds. The mechanism isn’t Labor’s invention. It was introduced by the Coalition in 2016. It just hasn’t been enforced. The Business Council of Australia, which supports Labor’s policy, doesn’t see the mechanism as a tax. “(It) is already in place alongside a suite of other measures to reduce emissions, with careful consultation with industry we believe it is the right incentive to drive investment, deliver more jobs and meet our net-zero commitments,” it tweeted on Wednesday. Scene Two: Mr Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg tried to hose down comments which suggested a split over the Coalition’s climate policy. It took a lot of persuasion and billions of funding for regional Australia — a political carbon tax, if you like — for the PM to get the Nats to commit to the 2050 net-zero target last year. So it wasn’t helpful that Nationals Senator Matt Canavan on Tuesday told the ABC net-zero by 2050 was “dead.” “Germany is building coal and gas infrastructure. Italy is reopening coal-fired power plants, it’s all over. It’s all over bar the shouting here,” Senator Canavan added. On Tuesday Mr Morrison announced a $70m hydrogen hub for Townsville. Just hours before Senator Canavan urged the Coalition to support the construction of a coal power station in north Queensland, remarking “we don’t need hydrogen”. The PM also played down comments by the Liberal candidate for the Queensland seat of Flynn, Colin Boyce, said there was “wriggle room” in the 2050 target. He insisted the target was set in stone. Verdict: The PM’s talk of a Labor carbon tax is hot air.