Sky yet to fall in, Tony Abbott concedes

25 Aug 2012, 3:23 pm   -   Source: AAP
Tony Abbott has conceded the introduction of the carbon tax has not immediately been catastrophic. (AAP)

Tony Abbott has conceded the introduction of the carbon tax has not immediately been catastrophic. (AAP)

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is retaining his focus on the long-term effects of a carbon tax after admitting the immediate effects are not "catastrophic".

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Opposition Leader Tony Abbott concedes the sky didn't fall in with the introduction of the carbon tax, but continues to blame it for the collapse of a $30 billion mine project.

Mr Abbott on Saturday repeated earlier claims that the carbon price and the federal government's minerals resource rent tax were partly responsible for BHP Billiton's decision not to go ahead with plans to expand the Olympic Dam uranium and copper mine.

But speaking at the Tasmanian state council of the Liberal Party, Mr Abbott admitted the carbon tax's immediate effect had been less than that of a "wrecking ball".

"Yes, the initial impact of the carbon tax may not be absolutely catastrophic," he told the council conference.

But it had played a part in this week's decision to shelve massive expansion plans for the Olympic Dam mine, he said, despite the company refusing to blame taxes.

Mr Abbott was embarrassed this week when he admitted he had not read the BHP-Billiton statement on the issue and the following day said he had.

"Everyone in the mining business is saying that at current Australian dollar values, at current commodity prices, at current cost structures in Australia, it is no longer economic to make major new investments," Mr Abbott said.

"The problem is we have a government which is constantly adding to the cost structure of our country and the principal culprits, the culprits that government can do the most about immediately, are the mining tax and the carbon tax."

Mr Abbott sought to focus on the long-term effects of the carbon tax, which he said was the hallmark of a "feral" government.

He said government-produced figures showed Australians would on average $5000-a-year worse off by 2050 and the country would miss out on $1 trillion.

"I'm often accused of running a scare campaign about the carbon tax," he said.

"I invite people who think I could be exaggerating the impact of the carbon tax to look at the government's own modelling ... it's as if our country were to shut down for a whole year."

The federal coalition's determination to scrap the carbon tax has caused some concern in cash-strapped Tasmania, which is expected to reap a $200 million windfall from its sale of hydro-produced clean energy.

"The carbon tax is damaging Tasmania," he told reporters.

"You ask every Tasmanian whose bill has just gone up ... even though 80 per cent of Tasmania's power is produced by hydro Tasmania."

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