A tax on mining will put Australia's economic recovery at risk, and hurt the very people the government is trying to help: Households and small business owners.
Such a tax will have dangerous consequences that will only exacerbate the cost of living crisis that is hitting Australians hard.
More job losses at a time when families are doing it tough.
Less investment at a time when the Australian economy needs bolstering.
More risk to the viability of power plants. Less tax revenue for schools, hospitals and infrastructure.
We acknowledge that families and low income earners are doing it tough at the moment due to the rising cost of electricity. But you don't tax your way out of a problem. Such a lazy approach to policy and politics will always have perverse outcomes.
The Prime Minister has said he would only be looking at sensible proposals to address rising electricity prices.
It is not sensible to slug the very sector that has propped up the economy and the Federal budget through recent uncertain times.
It is not sensible to risk the ongoing economic recovery by threatening confidence and jobs.
It is not sensible to place a handbrake on the economy and investment when we need the accelerator pushed.
In seeking to find an answer to rising electricity prices, it appears the government wrongly assumes the price of coal sets electricity prices.
It is conflating two issues.
More than 85 per cent of Australian coal is exported into the international market, where prices remain elevated. Those prices have nothing to do with setting the price of electricity in Australia.
The remainder is supplied to the domestic market at a significantly lower contract or spot price to generate electricity.
What is exacerbating the rising wholesale price of electricity is not the price of coal, nor the lack of supply, but the reduction in availability of baseload generation.
