Carbon tax shotgun inquiry begins in the dark

  The Gillard Government’s refusal to release updated modelling on its carbon tax will today see a farcical first hearing of the Labor-Greens dominated shotgun inquiry into the legislation, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and inquiry member Simon Birmingham said today.   Treasury officials are among those appearing before the Joint Select Committee this…

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Carbon tax inquiry – from the ridiculous to the more ridiculous

  The Labor-Greens dominated shotgun inquiry into Julia Gillard’s carbon tax legislation is descending from farce into high farce, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment and inquiry member Simon Birmingham said today.   A committee already dominated by the legislation’s Labor-Green proponents, given just three weeks to inquire into more than 1100 pages, affording Australians…

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Carbon tax – release the modelling

  The Gillard Government must release in full its updated carbon tax modelling, and do so well before Treasury’s appearance before a Parliamentary inquiry this Wednesday, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today.   Treasury officials have been scheduled to appear this Wednesday morning before the Joint Select Committee’s inquiry into the…

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Only 3 more days to lodge carbon tax submissions

  Australians only have until this Thursday 22 September to make submissions to the shotgun parliamentary inquiry into Julia Gillard’s carbon tax.   The Gillard Government thinks it’s reasonable for Australians to review and comment on over 1,100 pages of carbon tax legislation in a matter of days, having only called for submissions in Saturday’s…

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Just 6 days to lodge carbon tax submissions

  Australians have less than a week to make submissions on Julia Gillard’s carbon tax that she explicitly promised to never introduce.   Yesterday the Labor-Greens dominated inquiry into the 1,100-plus pages of carbon tax legislation resolved to give Australians just six days to make submissions to the inquiry, despite the massive impact this tax…

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Carbon tax inquiry a Labor farce from day one

  Today, the parliamentary inquiry into Labor’s carbon tax legislation met for the first time.   The desire of the Labor-Green-Independent alliance to avoid scrutiny and exert total control over this process was evident.   Using their majority, they scrapped parliamentary convention for a Government-nominated Chair to be offset by an Opposition-nominated Deputy Chair.  …

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NWC Report a strong call to arms for action

  The National Water Commission today released its third biennial assessment of the National Water Initiative and water reform in Australia.   The report highlighted the slow pace of water reform, stating:   “Nationally there has been disappointingly slow progress in the explicit identification of over allocated and overused systems and in restoring those systems…

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