[sustran] Australian fuel taxation alert

SUSTRAN Resource Centre sustran at po.jaring.my
Thu Jan 14 18:30:33 JST 1999


Dear sustran-discussers

The following from the Australian Conservation Foundation is an interesting
example of the fact that we sustainable transport advocates need to stay
alert to taxation issues. I hope it has wider interest and relevance beyond
Australia. Some of you may even want to write a letter of support for their
campaign.  There are some relevant web sites at the end of their message.

Paul

A. Rahman Paul BARTER,
SUSTRAN Resource Centre
P.O. Box 11501
50748 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Fax/Phone: +603 274 2590
E-mail: sustran at po.jaring.my
URL: http://www.geocities.com/Rainforest/Canopy/2853
The SUSTRAN Resource Centre hosts the Secretariat of SUSTRAN (the
Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific).


Original message:
From: "ACF Canberra" <acfnlo at pegasus.com.au> (by way of Carrie Sonneborn
<clsonneborn at mypostbox.com>)
Subject: A Tax on Clean Air - Info Alert
Mime-Version: 1.0

Australian Conservation Foundation Information Alert

GST - a tax on clean air?
participate in the debate

The Government's GST package, soon to come before the Senate, will have a
range of effects on the environment, notably air quality.  As part of the
GST reform package there will be a cut in the price of diesel fuel by 25
cents per litre, making it significantly cheaper than both petrol and
natural gas.

The ACF believes that the proposed tax changes will increase air pollution
and the numbers of large vehicles in our cities.

The ACF is very concerned about the impact of the GST package and lobbied
for the establishment of a Senate Inquiry into the environmental effects of
the GST package.  This committee is currently seeking submissions from
community groups and the general public who are concerned.

Your chance to comment on this tax reform and make a submission to the
Inquiry ends in 2 weeks on January 29th 1999!  We urge you to find time in
the next week or two to write a submission, even if it is short.  Provided
below are points relating to the impact of the proposed tax on air
pollution.  In addition several relevant website addresses have been
provided that provide information about other environmental impacts of the
GST that you may want to focus on.

Australians are rightly concerned about air pollution:
Air pollution continues to be the environmental problem of greatest concern
for Australian's, with 32 per cent of people reporting this as their major
environmental concern (ABS 1998).

There are good reasons for the public's concern about air pollution.  The
National Environment Protection Council (NEPC) noted in its 1997 Air
Quality paper that the air pollutants in our cities "act on the lungs,
nose, eye, throat, blood, heart, the central nervous system and other parts
of the body. Impacts can range from premature death and hospitalisation, to
a range of less severe health effects including increased asthma, eye
irritation, sore throat, cough, headache and the aggravation of respiratory
symptoms."

One study cited by the NEPC Report found that fine particulate air
pollution in Sydney alone accounts for 397 premature deaths per year.
Those most vulnerable to air pollution are children, the elderly and people
with existing illness, especially heart and lung diseases.

Why is the GST package a problem for air quality?
Australian Governments have the power to encourage clean fuel alternatives
and other policies that can improve worsening urban air quality and
increasing greenhouse emissions. The GST package is likely to have the
opposite effect.
- The package will see a 25c per litre reduction in the price of diesel for
'heavy' vehicles.  This will encourage a switch to diesel vehicles and
perhaps also an upgrading to larger vehicles. This GST policy could also
see an increase in road freight transport and a shift away from the use of
rail .
- The proposed GST price of diesel by 25c per litre will be available for
vehicles 3.5 tonnes and over gross (loaded or GVM) weight using public
roads. This may create an incentive for businesses to purchase of bigger
commercial vehicles to capture this cheap fuel. A land cruiser is 3.2
tonnes GVM and a small-medium truck is 6-8 tonnes GVM.
- Diesel fumes generate harmful health effects because its high particulate
content creates smog. The Government's 1997 Inquiry into Urban Air
Pollution found that "diesels make a disproportionate contribution to
particulate emissions, approximately two orders of magnitude by weight of
PM10 and for sill finer particles, than do petrol vehicles." (p48, 1998)

- Australia's greenhouse gas emissions could increase by around 2 per cent
above the levels they would otherwise reach, amounting to an additional 5
million tonnes. (Australia Institute 1998)

Diesel is bad news for cities and human health
- Diesel exhaust releases more smog generating particles than petrol
fuelled vehicles.
 - The particles released by diesel are very fine which means they are
easily inhaled deep into the lungs.
- In August 1998 the California Air Resources Board approved a proposal to
list particulate emissions from diesel-fuelled engines as a Toxic Air
Contaminant (TAC).
- Over 40 substances in diesel fuel emissions are listed as TACs by the ARB
and by the US Environmental Protection Authority as hazardous air
pollutants, with up to 15 of these substances listed by the International
Agency for Research on Cancer (IRAC) as carcinogenic to humans.

The switch to cleaner fuels will not happen
- There is great concern that the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicle
industry will be put out of business if the GST remains in its current
form. CNG engines produce far less air pollutants and greenhouse gases
compared to their diesel or petrol counterparts. The Environment Minister,
Senator Hill noted in 1997 that "the increased use of natural gas powered
vehicles can make an important contribution to the Australian public's
number one environmental concern: air pollution" (ANGVC Conference 1997)

- The proposed tax is likely to discourage Councils and Transit Authorities
from buying gas-fuelled buses. In 1989 - 91, New Zealand introduced a
similar price advantage for diesel and this saw a dramatic drop in the
conversion to gas-fuelled transport

What you can do:
1. Write a submission to the Senate Inquiry into the environmental impacts
of the GST package before 29 January 1999. The Terms of Reference for the
Inquiry can be found at:
- by calling or emailing the ACF National Liaison Office 02 - 6247 2472 (p)
<mailto:acfnlo at peg.apc.org>acfnlo at peg.apc.org
Your submission does not have to be long or complicated, but should set out
your views on how the GST package may affect the environment or your local
community.

Three websites that may help with writing your submission are:
- <http://www.peg.apc.org/~acfenv/>www.peg.apc.org/~acfenv/
The Australian Conservation Foundation's assessment of the Coalition and
Labor tax packages
- <http://www.tai.org.au>www.tai.org.au
The Australia Institute paper - The GST package and Air Pollution
- <http://www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/dieseltac>www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/dieseltac
California Air Resources Board - The Report on Diesel Exhaust

Anna Reynolds
National Liaison Officer
Australian Conservation Foundation
<mailto:acfnlo at peg.apc.org>acfnlo at peg.apc.org
02 - 6247 2472 (p)
02 - 6247 5779






More information about the Sustran-discuss mailing list