NO GUARANTEES WITH CARBON TAX FUND
June 8, 2012
A senior Cabinet Minister has admitted that the Gillard Government has not finalised plans for a $200 million fund which is supposed to help regional areas like the Latrobe Valley adjust to the introduction of the carbon tax.
Minister for Regional Australia Simon Crean has told Parliament that the process for distribution of the Regional Structural Adjustment Assistance Program had not been finalised, despite the carbon tax being introduced in less than a month.
“The guidelines for the Structural Adjustment Fund for the regions most affected by the carbon pricing initiative are still being considered and, in any event, they were always going to be contingent upon impact, once we knew where the „contracts for closure? were going to occur,” Mr Crean said, in answers to questions by Federal MP Darren Chester.
Mr Chester said it was a staggering admission and heightened his concerns that the Latrobe Valley would miss out on much-needed assistance.
“I find it hard to believe that this government is saying „trust us? to communities like the Latrobe Valley but it hasn?t even developed the guidelines for the funding package which is meant to assist regional areas,” Mr Chester said.
“To his credit, Minister Crean has been involved in a lot of discussions with the State Government and the local community but I don?t think his Ministerial colleagues understand the gravity of the situation.
“As it stands today, there is not a cent of Federal funding on the table to assist our region and there is absolutely no guarantee from the Gillard Government that we will receive any money from the Regional Structural Adjustment Assistance Program.”
During Parliamentary debate, Mr Chester raised a series of questions about the $200 million package and the lack of detail about the „contract for closure? policy which would see coal-fired power stations paid to shut down by the Federal Government. He said the value of the government?s assistance package was dwarfed by the importance of the power generators to the regional economy.
“We are only weeks away from supposedly making an announcement as to which stations will be closed,” Mr Chester told Parliament.
“My understanding is that a power station such as Hazelwood generates $130 million annually in terms of wages to the Latrobe Valley community, but we are talking about a $200 million structural adjustment package.
“If the Hazelwood power station were to close, it would dwarf the whole $200 million package.
“I do not think there is any suggestion from government that the Latrobe Valley will get the whole $200 million. My concern is that the impacts will be very severe and the allocation in terms of structural adjustment will be nowhere near enough.”