Thanks southee, much appreciated
dedja, I'm not an expert on the proposed carbon tax, but I think you could amend your nice round-robin as follows:
The tax is on the large polluters.
If they pass on the cost rise, they will become less competitive with their rivals, so consumers will favour the lower priced goods. Free enterprise being what it is, the polluters will find methods of production that are more efficient and less polluting, thus reducing carbon emissions. Many countries throughout the world already have this scheme.
The tax collected is from the polluters and will go back into compensation, either by way of tax cuts, rebates or other means, to consumers.
The end result is (hopefully) a reduction in carbon emissions, a more environmentally friendly energy industry and a revenue and cost neutral situation for consumers.
The carbon tax is merely a first step towards a carbon trading scheme.
When you take the scare tactics away from it, the carbon tax idea is a first step towards taking action on climate change. It's even endorsed by the WA Farmer's Federation, hardly a left-wing organisation.
Compare that with Tony Abbott's plan. He proposes a token scheme, costing $30 billion, uncosted, for a problem he doesn't think exists.
Of course, the media haven't sussed that out at all, which is a major surprise
