(07/19/12) -

Most Australians Expect Negative Financial Impact from Carbon Tax

Only nine per cent believe the new tax will provide significant long-term benefits for the environment.

The carbon tax that came into effect this month in Australia has been greeted with scepticism, a new poll conducted by Vision Critical Opinions Australia in partnership with Nine Rewards and Angus Reid Public Opinion has found.

In the online survey of a representative sample of 1,505 Australian adults, seven-in-ten respondents (70%) think the carbon tax will have a negative financial impact on their families, while only ten per cent foresee a positive impact.

In addition, only nine per cent of Australians believe they will see significant long-term benefits for the environment as a result of the carbon tax, with almost half (47%) think some benefits will materialise, and 44 per cent say no benefits will emerge.

Under the carbon tax, about 300 of Australia’s largest polluters will pay $23 for every tonne of carbon dioxide they emit. In 2015, an emissions trading scheme with regular auctioning of pollution permits will come into force.

Only 17 per cent of Australians say they have a high level of understanding of how the carbon tax works, while 52 per cent claim to have a medium level of understanding.

Across Australia, around half of respondents (48%) think global warming is entirely or mostly caused by man-made sources, while 31 per cent believe it is mostly or entirely caused by natural changes. Only 15 per cent of Australians say global warming is a theory that has not yet been proven.

A majority of Australians (50%) would prefer to protect the environment, even at the risk of hampering economic growth, while just over one-in-four (27%) would prefer to foster economic growth, even at the risk of damaging the environment.

Compared to the views outlined by respondents to a three-country Angus Reid Public Opinion poll conducted earlier this year, Australians are slightly less likely to believe in man-made global warming than Canadians. Australians are more likely to call for the protection of the environment even at the risk of hampering economic growth than people in Britain and the United States.

While Australians over the age of 55 are more likely to be sceptical about man-made global warming than their younger counterparts, they are also more likely to say that they understand how the carbon tax works, to believe it will have a positive impact on their families, and to expect significant long-term benefits for the environment.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Peter Harris, Managing Director, Vision Critical AUS/NZ
+02 9256 2001
peter.harris@visioncritical.com

Methodology: From July 6 to July 8, 2012, Vision Critical Australia conducted an online survey among 1,505 randomly selected Australian adults who are Nine Rewards panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 2.5%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Australia. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.