Local Government has become one of the key battle grounds in the carbon tax debate with the Federal Government and Opposition making wildly different claims about its impact.In announcing the Clean Energy Policy Prime Minister Julia Gillard has pointed to a boost to Local Governments with the Government’s Low Carbon Communities program to improve the energy efficiency of Council and community buildings being expanded from $80 million to $330 million.
The Department of Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government has announced it will monitor the socio economic impacts of the carbon price on regions to identify areas where impacts are acute and funding assistance may be required. This funding will support regional communities on a case by case basis.
According to the Federal Opposition, Local Governments will be hit hardest with its landfill sites facing a $200 million carbon tax bill.
Shadow Local Government Minister Barnaby Joyce said there are 565 Local Governments in Australia and all will have higher costs imposed on them as a result of the carbon tax.
"At a stroke this puts the lie to the Government’s deceitful claim that only the 500 biggest polluters will pay the tax," Senator Joyce said. "Under the carbon tax, Local Governments will have to pay to turn on the street lights, they will have to pay to build a road and they will have to pay to take out the rubbish. All of these extra costs are being shifted on to them without any form of compensation or even consideration by the Federal Government."
The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has been looking at the impact of landfills and has welcomed the Federal Government’s willingness to discuss and clarify the effects of carbon pricing on councils and ratepayers.
ALGA President, Genia McCaffery said that the Association supports the concept of a market based approach to carbon pricing but further market modelling and negotiations are needed before the full impact of the carbon price mechanism can be determined.
"It is clear that waste management will cost more," she said. "Determining how to measure carbon pollution from waste, such as emissions from landfills, is not so clear
"We are concerned that there appears to be no standard method for measuring emissions from landfills and estimation methods are unreliable. Also, the costs of waste related pollution will have to be met by landfill operators, including many local councils, which will then ultimately need to be passed on to ratepayers."
ALGA will be working with the Government to attempt to resolve the technical issues surrounding waste related pollution and provide Local Government with a better understanding of their obligations and how best to manage carbon pricing and energy efficiency.
While the Federal politicians debate the carbon tax, many Local Governments are pushing forward with initiatives to deal with a low carbon era.
Among many examples, Wagga Wagga City Council and Low Carbon Australia have announced a landmark energy efficiency agreement which will see the Local Government save around $60,000 off its energy bill and avoid producing over 188 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
Federal Regional Australia and Local Government Minister Simon Crean, commended the agreement as the first of many opportunities for Local Government and business in regional Australia to embrace energy efficiency.
"The foresight of Wagga Wagga City Council to develop this partnership with Low Carbon Australia not only allows the Council to introduce energy efficient technology into its operations, it also guarantees savings with less energy used," the Minister said.
In Queensland, Sunshine Coast Council’s early preparation for a potential carbon tax has paid off, with the organisation now well placed to deal with it.
Environment Portfolio Councillor Keryn Jones said the announcement of a proposed carbon price of $23 per tonne will be absorbed with little pain due to more than three years of hard work.
"We recognised the need for change and have been taking action," she said."The proposed carbon tax will provide funding for new clean tech industries to grow – and we’re ready to take advantage of that opportunity. Council has been working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the region to cut the community’s exposure to the anticipated carbon tax."
Australia’s leading expert on climate change, Professor Ross Garnaut has also welcomed the City of Sydney’s efforts to become a low carbon city by reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Recently, Professor Garnaut attended a function where Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore outlined to a gathering of business leaders the City’s Sustainable Sydney 2030 program.
This has set one of the most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets of any Australian government – 70 per cent from 2006 levels by 2030.
"I have seen few, if any, programs to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions matching the ambition of those embodied in the work program of the City of Sydney," Professor Garnaut said."The Sydney programs will have a triple benefit in shielding residents and businesses from all of the main sources of electricity and energy costs in the period ahead."
Professor Garnaut said reductions in emissions will decrease the costs of adjustment to carbon pricing.
"Improvements in energy efficiency will reduce all three sources of increases in electricity and transport costs in the period ahead: higher gas and coal prices from the resources boom; the costs of inefficiency in network regulation; and the effects of a carbon price," he said.
