Shadow
Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science
Bob Baldwin MP
Shadow
Minister for Regional Development and Tourism
11 July 2011
TOXIC CARBON TAX FORCES EVEN TOUGHER
TIMES ON
MANUFACTURERS IN PATERSON
The Labor Party simply doesn’t care about the dramatic impact of a
carbon tax on local businesses here in the Hunter, places like Tomago, Raymond
Terrace, Maitland, and throughout the
electorate of Paterson, according to Shadow Industry Minister, Sophie Mirabella,
and Shadow Minister for Regional Development and Tourism, and Member for
Paterson, Bob Baldwin.
Mrs Mirabella and Mr Baldwin
visited a series of manufacturing businesses
in the Hunter region today and heard repeated concerns over rising costs
and the ramifications about the entire supply chain.
“In addition to manufacturing
businesses, the carbon tax will have a devastating impact on local transport
companies, retailers, workshops, upstream suppliers, downstream businesses,
hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, schools and child care centres just to name a
few. All these costs will be passed on to the local community making every day
items more expensive and putting more pressure on household budgets,” said Mrs
Mirabella.
“The message we keep hearing
is that life is proving very tough for these businesses. They tell us that they
are already operating on wafer-thin margins, and the carbon tax may force them
over the edge.”
“There is no compensation for
losing your job and for your business closing down. The Prime Minister’s carbon
tax will close local businesses and export local jobs”, Mrs Mirabella said
today.
“Labor lied and said they
would not introduce a carbon tax. Now they are sacrificing local businesses and
jobs to save one job – Ms Gillard’s.”
“There are 430 manufacturing
businesses in Paterson, employing around 4,500 people. These businesses and
jobs are under threat” said Mr Baldwin.
“As per usual Hunter Labor MPs
like Sharon Grierson and Joel Fitzgibbon remain silent, neglecting workers and
manufacturing businesses around the Hunter and mid North Coast, the very people
who elected them.”
“The only way to stop surrendering
our jobs and businesses to foreign competitors is to axe the carbon tax.”
