BALDWIN STANDS UP FOR LOCAL JOBS WHILE HUNTER LABOR MPS ABANDON WORKERS
Late last night, Member for Paterson, Bob Baldwin spoke out against the Rudd Labor Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme/ETS. It is now apparent, more than ever before, that this CPRS is a tax, a tax that will affect hardworking Australians who are struggling to keep family budgets in check and who work hard to limit their impact on the environment.
Last year the New South Wales Labor Government commissioned a report through Access Economics on the impact of the CPRS. According to this report, the scheme could cost the Hunter 17,000 jobs by 2025 and cut its commercial output by more than $1 billion a year.
“That is perhaps one of the most damning articles I have ever read about the impact of an emissions trading scheme on a region—an impact that would be hard, if not impossible, for many to recover from,” said Mr Baldwin.
“The question to ask now is: from whose electorate will these 17,000 jobs be lost? Will they come from the seat of Hunter?”
Last night, Joel Fitzgibbon, Member for Hunter, declared to all that he is willing to vote to sacrifice those 17,000 jobs in the Hunter region.
“Given that he has Hydro’s Kurri Kurri smelter, most of the state’s coal-fired power stations and most of the state’s coalmines in his electorate, that is a very bold statement to those who have elected him to represent them in this parliament.”
“I am astounded as the local Member for Paterson, that the Member for Charlton, the Member for Newcastle and the Member for Hunter are not prepared to stand up against this scheme that will send local jobs overseas,” said Mr. Baldwin
“They have obviously lost touch with people who voted them in to represent their views in the Parliament.”
