Friday, May 05, 2006 at 13:20
Ask that Ex Democrat leader Stupid Meg Lees, It was her idea that a green levy be put on Diesel
Lees plans to block diesel fuel tax breaks PRINT FRIENDLY EMAIL STORY
AM - Wednesday, 16 June , 2004 08:08:00
Reporter:
Alexandra Kirk
TONY EASTLEY: The Federal Government's promise to give one-and-a-half billion dollars in tax breaks to diesel fuel users has disappointed Senator Meg Lees. The Progressive Alliance Party Senator says the Government has doubled the assistance in fuel excise cuts for farmers and miners and all other business activities.
Senator Lees says there's no need for such a massive boost to fossil fuel use and she's told AM she'll be seeking to block that part of the Government's package in the Senate.
MEG LEES: I knew that they were still keen to further extend the diesel fuel rebate. This is more than I thought they would come back with. But we took about 700 million off the bill last time and left it to on-road, which was necessary for the transport industry to keep the costs of transport as low as possible for rural Australians. But as we look at this package, there is simply no need to subsidise businesses, or indeed local government.
ALEXDANDRA KIRK: Why not?
MEG LEES:
Well, not in this way. If they want to give local government a boost, for example, and they certainly need it, then let's fund them directly. Let's make sure they have enough money to run the essential
services that local government is expected to run. Same with other industries – there are a variety of ways of supporting them without giving them cheap fuel.
ALEXDANDRA KIRK: But isn't transport a big input cost for those businesses in the bush?
MEG LEES:
Well, it is in terms of actual road transport and that is why we worked with government last time and worked with the trucking industry, and also made sure it extended to rail. But this is not about transport. This is actually about using it in construction and mining, using it for off-road use and I just simply do not think that is necessary.
Indeed, what it's going to do is totally undermine the fledgling industries out there that are just getting off the ground with remote
solar power, with small scale wind generation, where they're now competitive. But to then come back and further cut the price of diesel means that a lot of the really good work in using cleaner fuels is going to be undone.
ALEXDANDRA KIRK: In hindsight, should you have insisted on the changes for a much longer time period?
MEG LEES:
Well, I don't you ever can do that with government. To start with, we are just coming to the end of the life of this government and these changes aren't due to come in, I think, until 2007/2008, some of them. So part of it now will be over to the election campaign to look at energy policy and where we want Australia going. I argue that this takes us backwards.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: Do you regret now, doing the GST deal?
MEG LEES: No, no. I think it has proven to be very beneficial for the country. It was fair and we put the green package in it. But that only ever had a life of four years, and now we need to get back in there, and I will be getting back in there, and battling again, to focus this government's mind on the future, rather than just looking at what is really a cheap way of supporting a raft of businesses.
ALEXANDRA KIRK:
Well, how do you intend to do that?
MEG LEES:
Well this has to go through the Senate, the whole of the legal package will need legislation, and I will work as hard as I can to make sure that a couple of the measures that are need in this package, get through. But for the rest of it, that we re-focus on renewables and help business in other ways.
ALEXANDRA KIRK: So you'd be seeking to block, what, all the $1.5 billion fuel excise cuts?
MEG LEES: There are a couple of smaller measures within the package that are necessary, particularly for light transport, but for the vast bulk of the package, absolutely yes.
AnswerID:
170917
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