The electorate would never wear this.
TAXPAYERS would be forced to contribute 40 per cent of the cost of a BP-style environmental disaster under the Rudd government’s plan to refund project losses as part of its proposed resource super-profits tax.
During a teleconference briefing on the RSPT with about 40 institutional investors in Melbourne and Sydney last Friday, senior Treasury officials confirmed the government would guarantee 40 per cent of a company’s losses sustained through a major environmental incident.
The Australian has spoken to several conference participants who confirmed the officials’ comments in response to a question that cited the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
It is understood many of the investors were shocked to learn of the potential extent of the government’s liability for environmental clean-ups.
We heard too much about the polluter pays principle during the ETS debate for people to buy into this implication of the RSPT.
Which is why the miners never saw it as an upside from the beginning. Either the government will decide its politically impossible to pay, or the money will come with so many strings attached that they would be better off not accepting it.
Dal
10 Jun 10 at 12:03 pm