""These greenhouse gases are property owned by the States and it is impermissible for the Commonwealth to impose any tax on any property of any kind belonging to a State," Mr Pape said."
If these greenhouse gases are state property then the states should stop pumping them into the atmosphere as waste and look after their own property!
I own a dodgy old couch that is my property, but if I dump it in the street I can be charged by the state for illegal littering or by the council for rubbish removal.
This guy is probably a legal and constitutional expert but his argument would rely on the premise that greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere are not harmful, a premise that will fail under expert testimony.
I'm sure a defence maintaining that the states must keep their 'property' to themselves would be successful and may ultimately result in mandatory carbon sequestration. The IPA had better be very careful how they play this one. Bring it on, I say!
