"Baz, not sure what you think the ETS is all about, but it's not a tax in the normal sense of the word. You won't be paying it, and it's completely separate from income tax or GST. Ultimately costs will be passed on to consumers by the companies that do pay for emitting CO2, I expect, which won't all be cancelled out by the government rebate to taxpayers."
No disrespect Moby (particularly since you have taken the time to provide a reasoned answer) but most people don't pay company tax (at least not directly) but it is still a tax. I believe by definition the raising of revenue by a government is a tax.
This aside, we have enough pollution problems in Australia without having to be involved in the pollution problems of other countries (the apparent need for a world wide tax system).
When world health authorities decided that car fumes were bad for us, many countries created regulations to reduce car fumes. They did not start a global discussion on the science of car fumes; they just got on and fixed it (at least in many advanced economies).
I am simply suggesting that we, in Australia could do the same. Identify the pollutants and regulate until we are happy. We will all have to pay for improvements one way or the other, I would prefer that the electorate has some control of the spending.
