Oz Carbon Tax Passes Senate

The Australian "Carbon Tax" has been passed in the Senate and will become law. It remains to be seen if Tony Abbott, should he get elected, follows through with his hubristic and dogmatic threats of repealing the law.

The Greens are understandably pleased.

Mining interests and The Australian have predicted this will trigger the imminent demise of the entire Australian economy, even though the more likely threat is due to financial problems in Europe. Piers Akerman (hat tip Deltoid) dredges up the old Dark Ages analogy to describe the horror that is about to befall us all at the hands of  the "Green Cultists" who, for some unexplained reason want to rain doom on us all.

I guess we all have our own favourite falling sky to fret over... 

Finally, carbon tax becomes law

The Age, Nov 8.

The Labor government has finally got its carbon price plan through the Senate — on a vote of 36 to 32.

The carbon price begins with a tax, starting next July and will move later to a trading scheme. The issue has dogged Labor, contributing to Kevin Rudd’s fall from the leadership, after he backed off on his emission trading scheme, delaying it when he could not get it through the Senate.


‘‘The Gillard government has today secured a clean energy future for all Australians,’’ Ms Gillard said.


The carbon victory comes as Labor was heartened by an improvement in today’s Newspoll, with the ALP primary vote rising from 29 per cent to 32 per cent.

Supporters of the carbon scheme celebrated out of the Parliament, undeterred by torrential rain. 

Carbon facts: how the package will roll out

The Age, Nov 8.

How the clean-energy package will roll out:

Carbon emissions tax for the 500 biggest polluters starts on July 1, 2012.

Tax moves to an emissions trading scheme in 2015.

Tax begins at a fixed price of $23 a tonne and rise by 2.5 per cent a year until 2015.

Tax will not apply to agricultural emissions or light on-road vehicles.

Electricity generation, stationary energy, some business transport, waste, industrial processes and fugitive emissions will be covered by the initial tax.

Average households will see a $9.90 weekly cost rise.

Average households will receive assistance of $10.10 weekly.

Free carbon permits will be the given to the most emissions-intensive and trade-exposed industries.

The government wants to cut pollution by 80 per cent by 2050.

There are many tired phrases used by grumpy old men, and Piers hackneyed use of "The Dark Ages" should prompt the question, exactly how dark where they? Well, not much really. 

Top 10 Reasons The Dark Ages Were Not Dark 

Wikipedia suggests that this period of Western Culture was just a bit obscure to the scholars of the Renaissance - many of whom glorified Rome. So if you love empires, wars and conquests then I guess the relative peace in Western Europe during this time (at least until the Crusades) means yes it was "dark". The Byzantine and Islamic cultures on the other hand had a mostly rip roaring "dark ages" of a time.

UPDATE

 Markets Live: Stocks lose $37b on Italy fears

Those clever evil Greens... at must be their doing.