8 May 2015
With the Federal Budget around the corner, Environment Victoria has released a short briefing paper that outlines the case for putting a cap on the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme, also known as the diesel rebate.
Summary of the briefing:
- The diesel rebate subsidises almost 9% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions.
- It costs the Australian public about $7 billion per year, and rising, with $2.5 billion going to the mining industry.
- Mining companies receive about ten times more from the rebate than the next largest sector.
- Revenue foregone under the scheme could be spent on anything else – it is not tied to road construction.
- The Emissions Reduction Fund receives just a fraction of the funding of the diesel rebate.
- A Freedom of Information request by Environment Victoria revealed Cabinet considered a cap on the scheme at last year’s budget, which would limit how much an individual company could receive in a given year.
- The scale of the $7 billion per year diesel rebate calls for higher standards for disclosing who receives the money, such as through a Senate inquiry.
The full briefing paper is available to download here.
For comment:
Nicholas Aberle, Environment Victoria Safe Climate Campaign Manager, 0402 512 121