HOST:
David Bradbury, good morning.
BRADBURY:
Good morning Glen.
HOST:
The Nielsen Poll shows just 33 per cent of people support this tax and more than half believe it will leave them worse off.
BRADBURY:
Look, we're really leaving the judgement to the Australian people and over the coming weeks in particular they will start to experience carbon pricing first hand. They've already started to receive some of the benefits in terms of the assistance we're providing, with assistance in the form of increases to family payments and pensions; of course the tax cuts and the tax relief we're delivering will start to be felt by people in their pay packets over the coming weeks.
We understand there's a big challenge ahead for us in trying to communicate the importance of these policies but what we are trying to do is cut our greenhouse gas emissions so that we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels so that we can build a stronger economy for the future, but at the same time to do that in a way that is the most effective and most efficient way by pricing carbon, but ensuring that as we implement these changes we take into account the cost of living increases – as minimal as they will be. It's important to reflect upon the fact that overall prices are expected to increase by less than one per cent, that's less than one cent in the dollar.
HOST:
And you're confident that the average price rise will be 0.7 per cent, you think that the household assistance you're offering will more than cover the increase for most people.
BRADBURY:
Well, it certainly does. If you look at the average household, it will be more than adequately compensated, but most households are receiving some assistance. But the reality of carbon pricing is now upon us and people will see. No doubt there will be other price increases, the price increases that we all encounter on a daily or a weekly basis that Mr Abbott will try and blame on carbon pricing. The point here is that Mr Abbott not only wants to turn his back on the prospect of a clean energy future, but he has also committed to ripping away the assistance that we're providing –
HOST:
That, [inaudible] as we've heard from Andrew Robb this morning they will be introducing their own separate tax cuts, their own separate pension increases; people will get the benefit without the pain, if you like.
BRADBURY:
And we've got a magic pudding from which we can just slice and dice and cut up a piece for everybody. They're out there in la-la land. The reality is that you have to be able to fund these forms of assistance.
HOST:
Why is it okay that certain people, the higher income earners, in Australia don't get any of this compensation? What's the rationale behind that? Is it simply that they've got room in their budgets to avoid some of the costs without it hurting their quality of life? Are they just supposed to suck it up, if you like?
BRADBURY:
Well it's about equity, and in the end these cost increases are very modest. People on high incomes will not be receiving the sort of assistance of those on lower incomes. We think it's appropriate that those on low incomes and middle incomes be the ones that receive that assistance. I think most people on higher incomes have the capacity to pay and no doubt many of them will be willing to pay in order to take the action that's necessary.
HOST:
Where's the incentive to change for everyone else then? People are getting such large amounts of compensation, where does the change in behaviour come from?
BRADBURY:
There's always an incentive to cut your emissions because of the cost of electricity and the impact that that's having on households. Let's be very clear about what this is all about. It's actually about driving signals at the source, where electricity and power is being generated. It's about shifting away from our very strong dependence upon fossil fuels so that we can start to ensure that the energy that's being delivered to households and businesses is being generated through less carbon intensive means. This means less of the fossil fuels, more renewable energy so that we can ensure our economy becomes less dependent on fossil fuels, more dependent on a clean energy future.
HOST:
And how will you be able to prove that? How will you prove the carbon tax is doing its job?
BRADBURY:
Well over time we will see what other jurisdictions that have introduced carbon pricing have also seen. Take New Zealand for example. The overwhelming majority of new investment in energy infrastructure has been in renewable energy. They're pricing carbon, many other countries around the world are doing the same thing. If you want to make sure that we start to make that transition to reduce our emissions so that we can help the environment, then the most effective and efficient way of doing it is through a market-based mechanism. Polluters pay. The less you pollute, the less you pay.
HOST:
You've got an argument to mount because it doesn't look like you've got the majority of people on your side just yet. David Bradbury, thanks for your time this morning.