15 reasons against carbon tax, page-6

The first part of that article makes interesting reading.
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The great carbon chasm that could swallow Gillard whole April 25, 2011
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Coming out fighting ... a carbon chasm is emerging in Australia. Illustration: Edd Aragon

Sue Isles is in her 50s and, until recently, was kicking back, enjoying the view. Now she is so fired up that for first time in her life she has become a political agitator. During the past month she has joined rallies in Canberra, Macquarie Street and Blacktown. In doing so, she placed herself right on the fault line opening up in Australian politics.

She and her husband have sold their small business, put away savings, have no debt and their children have graduated and are working. This has freed them to actively join in grassroots politics. When I asked her why she had suddenly become passionate about politics she replied:

''I've never had the sense before that we are disconnected from the government. We spent our lives in small business and this government is just making it harder and harder. This new carbon tax was the last straw. This government seems disconnected from people's lives, and disconnected from the truth.''

Advertisement: Story continues below She now owns a homemade placard: ''Gillard, your lies are taxing''. Why is there such a sharp and growing divide between the majority who oppose the carbon tax and the minority who openly treat the majority as idiots?

This fault line is starting to become a carbon chasm which could destroy the Gillard government. It first became evident on March 23, the day of the first anti-carbon tax rally outside the Federal Parliament, when the Prime Minister was happy to demean the several thousand demonstrators, including Sue Isles, who had turned up that morning:

''As I understand it, the Leader of the Opposition did not lack for red-headed company at that rally,'' Gillard said in answer to a question from Tony Abbott during question time. ''He had a redheaded friend out at that rally, so I am sure he would not have missed me.''

The irony of this smear - that opposition to the carbon tax is led by people such as Pauline Hanson - was that Abbott was the person most responsible for putting Hanson in jail.

A few minutes later, the same tactic was used by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet: ''Of course, there are those with opposing views, including those who are part of the so-called 'people's revolt' organised by the Leader of the Opposition. It is perfectly legitimate in a democracy for people to freely express their views and to engage in rallies such as that conducted today. I have been involved in some rallies myself ?

''But this revolt is led by the Menzies House website, founded with the help of Liberal senator Cory Bernardi, notorious for his climate change science denial. There is also ? the Consumers and Taxpayers Association, who organised today's rally ? an association with just three members. You have also got climate sceptics groups, the anti-Semitic Australian League of Rights and One Nation ?

''Clearly these are not people who would support action on climate change. The decision by the Leader of the Opposition to associate himself with ? [these groups] is unbefitting a leader of a major political party in this country - and you should disassociate yourself.''

When it comes to associations with fringe groups, Gregory Ivan Combet has form. I first encountered him in 1998 on the picket lines of the waterfront dispute in Melbourne. As secretary of the ACTU, he was there every day, ignoring, justifying or rationalising the death threats, intimidation and illegal pickets being used to try to protect the systematic corruption on the waterfront led by the Maritime Union of Australia. Combet had previously worked for the MUA.

Two years earlier, he led a union demonstration in Canberra which turned ugly when a breakaway group tried to storm Parliament House, smashing doors and windows. Now, as the minister with responsibility for the carbon tax, Combet will need to spread his net of insults very wide. Because the opinion polls are showing almost 60 per cent of Australians do not want the tax.
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Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/the-great-carbon-chasm-that-could-swallow-gillard-whole-20110424-1dstv.html#ixzz1KXSZJpAX