The discussion on the carbon tax to be brought before our Federal Parliament shortly has stopped being a move to overcome what has become a serious environmental problem and has been turned into an argument between those who want a better atmosphere for our families in the future and those who are more interested in the money that they can make in the present environment.
The arguments that have been put before us by those against this anti-pollution act can be likened to similar stories put against any action to control the very serious problems we have with alcohol and tobacco; those that have money invested in these two products claim placing controls on them will cause unemployment and send work offshore, and send many small businesses broke, so the present stories are nothing new.
The arguments put up against our Federal Government’s effort to act against pollution are not restricted to those involved in the coal mining businesses or the manufacturers of some metals, it has in fact become a party political program.
Our world’s natural reaction to environmental attacks is or should be obvious to us all. At the present time we have frosts that have stopped plants, grass and many shrubs in their tracks but come spring, these plants will spring back to life.
The same cannot be said for the damage that has been done to nature by chemicals put into our atmosphere by coal fired power stations or the millions of motor vehicles that now run around our roadways.
There has to be some action taken to clean up our atmosphere and we don’t have to wait for other countries; we used to see Australians as individualists, it would be a great pity if we have changed.
Geoffrey H Gilmour, Stanthorpe
