Shadow Minister on Climate Action Greg Hunt yesterday challenged Climate Change Minister Penny Wong  to answer 10 key questions on the government’s embattled emissions trading scheme:

18 January 2010

Senator the Hon Penny Wong
Minister for Climate Change and Water
PO Box 6022
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Dear Minister,

While you are busy setting false deadlines for the Coalition regarding its climate policy, the real deadline is looming with your planned re-introduction of the ETS legislation during the first sitting of Parliament.

In light of this, and in the wake of the recent Copenhagen climate talks, there are a number of serious questions that need to be answered.

First, how much will the price of an average basket of groceries increase under your ETS? How much will a litre of milk increase? A loaf of bread?

Second, under your ETS, how much will be the additional cost on average to heat the home of a single pensioner living in Launceston or Cooma?

Third, how much will the cost of running a dry cleaning business increase under your scheme? How much more expensive will it be to run a lighting store or a pie shop?

Fourth, do you agree that the Government’s own figures show almost none of the money raised by this new tax will actually go to reducing emissions or any form of real climate change action?

Fifth, will you confirm that you aim to raise $120 billion from mums and dads, pensioners, teachers, police and emergency service workers and then give big business $40 billion of that?

Sixth, are you aware that the French constitutional court has just knocked out that country’s carbon tax, that Tony Blair has just called for direct action, that even Sting has highlighted the potential of the world’s forests to clean up our air and that the European model — which you trumpet — does not tax electricity and even then has been a dismal failure?

Seventh, will you agree that even on your best-case modelling, 5.7 million Australian families will be worse off under your ETS?

Eighth, do you concede that your own Government’s modelling shows non-ETS measures will have reduced Australian emissions by 150 million tonnes a year by 2020, more than even the best-case scenario under your $120 billion tax?

Ninth, will you reinstate support for solar energy? After removing the solar panel rebate from average families and then abolishing the rebate, along with the remote solar program and the Solar Schools Program, you have all but destroyed the solar industry in Australia. Why?

Finally – and most importantly – will you guarantee that no individual pensioner will be worse off under your new tax?

Australians deserve to have these vital questions answered. Australians deserve to know exactly what your scheme will mean for them.

I ask that you provide answers to the Australian people by Australia Day to give them a chance to consider before you introduce legislation with significant grocery, electricity and other costs of living impacts for all Australians.

Yours sincerely

HON GREG HUNT MP

Hunt has given  Wong until Australia Day to come up with some answers to his “serious questions” on the impact of the ETS, but we thought we might as well get the ball rolling.

At the top of his concerns, Hunt  inquired about the impact the ETS will have on basic groceries such as milk and bread.

“Any change in the price of milk or bread will be negligible,” Andrew Macintosh, associate director of the ANU Centre for Climate Law and Policy told Crikey. The prices of fruit and vegetables would also be minimally affected under the proposed ETS, said Macintosh, because of the exemption on agriculture and the offsets for transport.

As for the scheme’s effects on pensioners,  Macintosh is doubtful there would be any significant negative impacts.

“The government has made it perfectly clear that it’s going to protect low-income earners such as pensioners and everything they’ve done with the ETS so far seems to reflect that. Low-income earners will actually be better off, because the handouts are bigger than under no ETS,” said Macintosh.

“In any case it’s a completely stupid exercise given the uncertainty of the price on carbon and the fact that we don’t have an ETS as yet,” he added.

But the meatier end of Hunt’s concerns related to the impact the ETS will have on various retailers including that bastion of Australian culinary culture, the pie shop.

Wayne Homschek, CEO of PieFace, who supplies 22 outlets around the country, told Crikey that he estimates that the bulk of the increase for pie shop owners under the ETS would come through electricity costs.

According to Homschek, electricity makes up 2-3 per cent of a retail pie shop’s overall costs. Given that electricity costs are expected to rise by 25-40% by 2020, we’re talking about an overall pie cost increase of about 0.9%.

In what no doubt will be a relief for pie eaters everywhere, Homschek said this would likely be absorbed without any additional price rise for pie eaters.

If the opposition is so keen to ensure pie shops remain afloat, perhaps Mr. Hunt should be asking if the ETS will actually reduce our emissions by enough to stop the waters rising.

Crikey tried to contact a single pensioner living in chilly Launceston or Cooma but we were unsuccessful. Sting was also unavailable for comment.