The federal government’s proposed carbon tax will make it hard for Australia to remain a first world economy, federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says.
Speaking to reporters in Sydney after touring a bus manufacturing facility in Villawood, Mr Abbott repeated his claim the carbon tax will cost jobs.
If carbon tax goes ahead, it will be yet another burden on businesses like this…businesses which are already struggling against foreign competition,” he said.
“An Australia that can’t make buses would no longer be a first economy, yet that is the kind of prospect we face if the carbon tax goes ahead.”
Mr Abbott said the bus company, Custom Coaches, faced a million dollar a year power bill that would rise by $200,000 a year if the tax went ahead.
The Gillard government had faced intense criticism in recent months over the lack of detail in its carbon tax plan.
Mr Abbott also pointed out that Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said she understood why Australians were uneasy about the tax.
“You can understand why premier Bligh doesn’t support it, when treasurer Wayne Swan doesn’t understand it,” he said.
by John Jackson
