Good News On Carbon Tax

Good News On Carbon Tax

Farmers are pleased that the government will not impose a carbon tax from 2007, said Hugh Ritchie of Federated Farmers of New Zealand (Inc).

"The tax would have sucked money out of rural communities, hurt the New Zealand economy, and done nothing to reduce carbon dioxide emissions,” said Mr Ritchie, the Federation’s climate change spokesman.

“Abandoning the carbon tax in the first commitment period of the Kyoto protocol (2007-2012) is common sense. It would have added costs to every step in the product chain, from on-the-farm operations through to increasing costs of transport, processing and exporting.

“Farmers are already under pressure from rising interest rates, a strong dollar, and weakening commodity prices. The carbon tax would have delivered another blow to farmers and reduced the international competitiveness of New Zealand’s number one export earner.

“So, congratulations to the government for seeing reason on the carbon tax. That said, the Federation will be looking closely at other details in the government’s climate change package, including its policy on Kyoto forests and use of farm levy funds for research,” said Mr Ritchie

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