Carbon Tax Interview

I was linked this 20 minute late line interview of Paul Keating regarding his thoughts on the carbon tax reform. This has got to be the best explanation for the carbon tax I have heard. He lays it out in simple economic terms about how it will effect the flow of capital into different areas of the economy and why it is an important reform to have in place.

The theory is that having the carbon tax in place will effect future investment decisions and bring about new enterprise that can exploit green technology opportunities. He likens this to the floating of the Australian dollar and how it brought about business in international tourism, Education services (full fee international students) and exports (he mentions wine and technology). This is the solid economic explanations I like to hear and read about when analysing the pro's and con's of a policy.

The amazing thing about this video is that in the 10 minutes he speaks about carbon tax he has explained it better then our current Labor government has since it was announced. Whether this is a sign of a great politician or a testament to the quality of our current ones (on both sides) is up for debate. Personally I think it is a bit of both.