CATHOLIC social justice agencies have raised a range of issues relating to the proposed carbon tax as the Australian Government prepares to introduce bills on the legislation into parliament this week.
The St Vincent de Paul Society’s national council, the Edmund Rice Centre and Brisbane archdiocese’s Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (CJPC) expressed varying degrees of support for the Government’s carbon pricing plans after they were announced in July.
The St Vincent de Paul Society called for part of the Government’s carbon tax compensation to be made directly through household energy bills.
The society’s national energy spokesman Gavin Dufty said the Government’s “silence had been deafening” since this suggestion was made.
Edmund Rice Centre eco-justice programs co-ordinator Jill Finnane said “the Gillard carbon plan is an important and significant first step that all Australians should get behind” and spoke of The Hungry Tide, an influential new documentary on the plight of Australia’s climate change-affected near northern neighbours.
Caritas Australia representatives urged Prime Minister Julia Gillard at her recent Brisbane community cabinet meeting to consider the use of some of the revenue raised from the carbon tax to help poorer countries most affected by climate change in Asia and the Pacific.
However, the potentially divisive nature of the debate was highlighted as the Australian Catholic Bishops Commission continued to work towards agreement on a statement that would capture common ground on the issue.
The agencies’ concerns came as the Government’s parliamentary secretary for climate change Mark Dreyfus told an Australian National University conference on Monday (September 5) the Government would introduce 13 carbon tax bills in the next sitting week which starts tomorrow (September 12).
Mr Dreyfus was reported as saying the Government had the numbers to pass the bills in the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Mr Dufty said the Government’s proposed compensation package failed to capture some of the significant variations in impact due to utility billing cycles, household location, household type and household needs.
“Some households will therefore be over-compensated while others stand to be under-compensated under the proposed model,” he said.
“We are particularly concerned about very low-income households living in rental accommodation.
“These families have absolutely no room to move when it comes to choices about energy consumption and little ability to manage the price shock of higher utility bills.”
Ms Finnane said “putting a price on the greenhouse gas emissions that each one of us is responsible for is an effective means to move towards overall improvements for the planet”.
“As a nation we need to look beyond our own short-term interests and consider, not only the legacy we are leaving for our grandchildren, but also the effect that our emissions are having on our neighbours in low-lying Pacific Island nations.
“It is in places like Kiribati and Tuvalu, and in communities of our own Torres Strait Islands that the sea encroachments are already having devastating effects.
“This is too important an issue to play politics with. As Australians we have a choice.
“We can fight against this legislation and tell our grandchildren that they can deal with our mess later, or, we can embrace this plan and tell our grandchildren that ours was the generation that accepted the reality of carbon pollution.”
CJPC executive officer Peter Arndt said the commission did not feel it had the capacity to make judgments about the different mechanisms being proposed for bringing about a transition in the Australian economy in which carbon emissions were drastically reduced.
“We do, however, feel strongly that policies need to bring about significant reductions in carbon emissions,” he said.
“This means a move away from burning of fossil fuels and towards the use of renewable energy.
“We think it is time for people in the community and the Church to stop wasting time debating whether climate change is happening and whether human beings are the cause.”
