Surviving the Australian Carbon Tax and How to Defeat It

Written by Andrew Puhanic
Published on Tuesday, June 26th, 2012
Globalist Report

With less than one week to go before the introduction of a Carbon Tax in Australia, the pressure is beginning to mount on ordinary Australian families and businesses.

Here at the Globalist Report, I have already made an attempt to demonstrate the impact that the Carbon Tax will have on ordinary Australian’s. However, the lack of reporting and discussion within the Australian and international community about the carbon tax and its effects on the Australian economy is unacceptable.

As I have stated earlier, the Australian Carbon Tax will not make any significant impact on global warming and the environment. As Australia only produces 1.5% of total global emissions, the likely effect that the carbon tax is intended to have will not come to fruition.

A recent survey revealed that 54% of Australians oppose the introduction of a Carbon Tax. The respondents to the Survey also revealed that 67% Identified that energy prices and 53% said that fuel prices are going to increase by a lot.

I think it’s now more appropriate than ever to further report on facts about the Carbon tax that no one appears to be willing to write about and offer solutions about how to beat the carbon tax and save money.

How the Australian Carbon Tax is hurting Australians

Even before the Australian carbon tax becomes a reality, it has already started to impact on the lives of ordinary Australians.

Because no one knows the exact impact the carbon tax will have on the cost of living, many businesses have started to adjust their pricing models.

The following are a few examples of the impacts that the carbon tax will have on the Australian economy:

• A fruit and vegetable retailer in Queensland has declared that the Carbon Tax will ruin his business. Matt Smith, from Coolum, was shocked when he received a notice from his energy retailer, TruEnergy, stating how much electricity would increase from July 1 2012. It was reported that his electricity expenses will rise from $47.62 to $107.83 per week. This equates to a peak rate increase from 18c to 22 cents a kilowatt hour. (Source: Sunshine Coast Daily)
• The owner of a Victorian Coal Fired Power Plant has had to invest more that $650 million of capital to ensure that power supplies are guaranteed post 1 July 2012.
• Sales of personal computers in Australia have fallen considerably because of the lack of business confidence due to the introduction of the Carbon Tax (Source: TechEYE)
• It has been estimated that the Carbon Tax will increase the cost of processing cattle by as much as $6-$8 per head (Source: Beef Central)
• The profitability of Australian mining will be impacted because of the Carbon Tax. UBS has warned the mining and carbon tax, which takes effect in less than a week, will damage BHP and Rio Tinto’s profits. UBS has cut its earnings estimates for the two mining giants by 4 per cent in 2013 (Source: Sky News Australia).
• The council rates of residents who live within the boundaries for the Brisbane City Council will increase by an estimated 4.49%. The Mayor of Brisbane was quoted as saying that “the $23 per tonne carbon price would add $15 million in additional costs to the local government” (Source: The Australian)

How to Save Money When Paying Carbon Taxes

Whether you are based in North America, Asia or Europe, it’s more likely than not that your government in collaboration with the Globalists, will implement a Carbon Tax.

Therefore, if we can’t stop the Carbon Tax from being implemented and we can’t revoke the Carbon Tax in the short-term, the following are some tips and hints about how to save money and defeat the Carbon Tax at home.

Appliances and Whitegoods

1. When boiling water in a kettle, try to only fill it up to as much as you need it. This will allow the kettle to boil quicker.
2. If you own a Beer Fridge, a great way to save money is by turning if off during the week or between parties.
3. Stop drying clothes via the clothes drying machine. Instead, hang them outside.
4. Keep your fridge operating efficiently by keeping the door seals clean (replace them if they’ve deteriorated) and defrost the freezer if necessary.
5. When you have to buy new whitegoods, try to always buy the most efficient ones. These days, just because an appliance is more efficient, doesn’t mean it’s more expensive.

Cooking

1. When cooking sauces and soups, always keep the lid on to stop the heat escaping.
2. If you own an electric oven, try and cook more with your gas stove. It’s a much cheaper alternative.
3. Always try to cut food into smaller pieces to save time on cooking
4. Try to prepare more raw food. What I mean by this is, try to prepare at least one meal per week that doesn’t require any heat to prepare.

Gadgets

1. Try to switch off the your appliances at the wall. Appliances on standby use a considerable amount of electricity.
2. Turn your mobile phone off when not using it? Or charge it at work…

Lights and Lighting

1. Try to turn off the lights when watching TV.
2. Try and use lamps with low voltage lighting were possible.
3. Don’t turn your lights on during the day.
4. Stop using automated outdoor lights. They most likely turn on many times during the night because of local animals roaming your property.
5. So you’ve swapped your old incandescent bulbs for more efficient lights? Now, it’s time to replace energy-hungry halogen downlights. Mains voltage (GU10 base fitting) 50 Watt halogens can be replaced with 11-watt compact fluorescent ‘micro’ downlights. Low-voltage (MR16 base) 50-watt halogens can be replaced with 20 Watt infrared coated (IRC) halogens or three Watt LED downlights. Note that ‘low voltage’ does not mean ‘low energy’.

Keeping warm

1. Insulate your windows.
2. In winter, wear thicker clothing. The opposite goes for summer.
3. Stop using electric blankets to keep warm. Instead, use an extra blanket.
4. Use a door snake to stop the cold air entering from underneath your door.
5. If you run a ducted heating system, close the vents in rooms you don’t frequently use.
6. Set your thermostat to a reasonable temperature of 18 to 20ºC in winter. Each degree hotter can increase your energy bill by about 10 per cent.

Hot water

1. The shorter your shower, the less energy you spend heating up water.
2. Install a water-saving shower head

Staying cool

1. When the weather heats up again, remember it is easier to prevent your house becoming hot than it is to cool an already hot-house. Make sure your home has adequate exterior shade, such as awnings, blinds, sails, shade cloth, shade trees or verandas.
2. Install fly-screens to make it easier to ventilate your home.
3. For active cooling, fans use the least energy, followed by evaporative coolers (which suit dry climates). Air conditioners are the most expensive to run.
4. Fans work by moving air over your skin. If you’re not in the room, the fan is doing nothing. Switch it off.

Final Remarks

Here in Australia, the carbon tax will become a reality on July 1 2012 and there is nothing that can be done to stop it.

However, in the short and medium term, we can take the fight directly to the government and voice our concerns.

For Australians, the only way to remove the Carbon Tax is to vote the current government out. However, if the opposition in Australia changes its policy and supports the carbon tax, then the fight will become much harder.

Carbon taxes are core to the globalist agenda and must never become a reality. If you do not live in Australia, then don’t make the same mistake the Australians have and SAY NO TO CARBON TAXES!