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(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A solid majority of Australians is in favour of a government-proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 67 per cent of respondents support the initiative, while 22 per cent oppose it.
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) – A solid majority of Australians is in favour of a government-proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, according to a poll by Newspoll published in The Australian. 67 per cent of respondents support the initiative, while 22 per cent oppose it.
Australia held a federal election in November 2007. Final results gave the Australian Labor Party (ALP) 85 seats in the 150-member House of Representatives. ALP leader Kevin Rudd was officially sworn in as prime minister in December, bringing an end to the 11-year tenure of Liberal leader John Howard as head of Australia’s government.
Rudd signed the Kyoto Protocol immediately after being sworn in, delivering on one of his electoral promises. In March 2008, the Kyoto Protocol came into effect. In July, the Rudd government introduced its Green Paper, a proposal to curb carbon emissions.
In September 2008, after reviewing the Green Paper, the government said it will implement a "Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme." The plan will include a carbon emissions trading system that will help reduce pollution "in a responsible and flexible manner and at the lowest possible cost" by giving businesses a permit to release up to a certain amount of greenhouse gas emissions. The mechanism will apply to stationary energy, transport, fugitive emissions, industrial processes, and the waste and forestry sectors.
At this point, the trading scheme bill needs the support of at least seven lawmakers from the opposition coalition of Liberals and National to survive in the upper house of the legislature.
On Sept. 23, the government set a deadline for the submission of changes to the trading-scheme bill by opposition lawmakers. Australian climate change minister Penny Wong sent a letter to Liberal leader Michael Turnbull, which read: "If opposition amendments are not made available in October, the government’s capacity to consider these amendments seriously and with appropriate prudence would be significantly constrained."
Polling Data
The federal government’s proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme aims to limit local carbon emissions by giving businesses a permit to release up to a certain amount of emissions. Are you in favour or against the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme?
|
In favour |
67% |
|
Against |
22% |
|
Uncommitted |
11% |
Source: Newspoll / The Australian
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,150 Australian voters, conducted from Sept.18 to Sept. 20, 2009. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
