PM considers national ad campaign to sell carbon tax
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has not ruled out the possibility of a national ad campaign to extol the virtues of a carbon tax.
“On government advertising, from time to time we advertise to get necessary information to people,” she said in an interview with ABC Television yesterday [Tuesday 8 March]. “I’m not going to rule in or rule out government advertising in the future.”
The idea was rebuffed by Independent MP Tony Windsor, who said: “It would be a silly thing for the government to engage (because) there’s only a framework. Without targets, without a price … they put the cart before the horse a bit here.”
One insider at a government roster agency said that they had received a number of calls from civil servants to discuss the possibility of a carbon tax ad campaign. “Something has to be done,” she said. “There’s so much confusion.”
The roster of government agencies includes George Patterson Y&R, Clemenger BBDO, The Campaign Palace and M&C Saatchi.
Government advertising is handled by the Communication Advice Branch at the Department of Finance and Deregulation.
Reminds me of Eddie Izzard:
“Napoleon had steamed into Russia 100 years before: “I’m going to kill them, I’m going to kill them, going to… Oh, it’s a bit cold, it’s a bit cold. Right! Ok, ok, bad idea.” And then Hitler, “I’ve got a better idea, got a better idea… Oh, it’s the same idea! It’s the same idea, it’s the same idea…”
Replace “Napoleon” with “Rudd”, “Hitler” with “Gillard”, and “Russia” with “Carbon Tax”… and you’ll get my point.
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I’d be very surprised if the campaign wasn’t being worked on already.
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But it’s not a Carbon Tax remember? It’s a “Price on Carbon”, and apparently the Australian public is soooooo dumb, that we’ll see that as something different.
Watch the ad campaign continue along those lines of it not being a tax but a “Price on Carbon” as if it’s a comodity that I can buy at Coles, (who will then do a campaign with giant red hands singing, “Down, down, carbon pricing is down…”).
Reminds me of the episode of The Simpsons set in the future where Lisa is President and has to impose a new tax but calls it a “temporary refund adjustment”. Sounds like a “Price on Carbon”…
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Is Gillard’s respone “I’m not going to rule in or rule out government advertising in the future” the same as “PM considers national ad campaign”?
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I really don’t mine my hard earned tax dollars going on something like this. The Australian public always seem to be harking on about how important the environment is and how little politicians do anything in addressing it, but when something looks like it might happen it’s all “hang on how much is that going to cost me” well do nothing and it will cost you the plant you idiot… ok. I will get off my high horse now
If anyone from Naked Communications is reading this, please call Julia now and offer your services
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Carbon taxing leads to Carbon offsets which all leads to massive profits for a bunch of people for doing nothing. How about we actually do something about reducing the carbon foot print, and incentivise people for a positive contribution.
Now that’s a scheme that makes sense for all, without being renue raisng for the Government and a bunch of opportunists.
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The best way to put a price on carbon is not to subsidize its use and creation in the first place.
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I’m opposed to the carbon tax, but I’m all for cutting carbon emissions. We need massive investment in developing real alternative technologies which will lead to dramatic reductions of carbon emissions. A carbon tax won’t do that – it’ll cost billion$, but result in marginal improvement at best. It’s a bit like getting someone to go from 3 sugars to 2 3/4 sugars in their coffee. Sure they’re using less sugar – but it’s still sugar!
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Perhaps we should have invested the 40 billion we are going to waste on the NBN into alternate technology for energy…we would then be the world leader and ensure the nation’s prosperity. Or is that just too simple????
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