Carbon auction farce why ACT will cut the Carbon Tax

“Barring a miracle, tomorrow’s carbon auction will further expose the absurdity of a climate policy that has lost touch with economic reality,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“The Government will miss out on around $195 million dollars of revenue, under ACT’s policy that could be given to households as a Carbon Dividend. Instead, the price will stay artificially high and instead of getting a dividend, families will pay extra on their power and petrol.

“Sensible climate policy should preserve jobs and an affordable life while ensuring New Zealand does no more than the countries we trade and compete with.

“Every party except ACT supported the Zero Carbon Act. That led to crazy climate targets and settings that now mean the Government refuses to sell carbon credits for less than $71, when exactly the same units are trading on the market for around $50.

“No rational buyer is going to pay $71 for something they can buy for $50.

“In three years only two of 24 auctions have sold a unit. The last six Government auctions have failed to sell a single unit. Tomorrow, as a result, there will be up to 3.9 million units available. Unless something dramatically changes, taxpayers are staring at another auction where the Government prices itself out of its own market.

“It is a lose-lose. The Government gets no auction revenue and households and businesses still face the Carbon Tax through higher petrol, power, freight and grocery prices.

“ACT would cut the waste in climate policy so we can grow the country.

“We would scrap the arbitrary Net Zero 2050 target and repeal the Zero Carbon Act. Instead of imposing costs our competitors are unwilling to bear, we would match them so we maintain market access without putting unnecessary costs on Kiwis.

“We would also scrap wasteful bureaucracy like the Climate Change Commission and remove the artificial auction price floor so the Government can sell units at the price the market is actually willing to pay.

“And we'd return 100 per cent of the net revenue to New Zealanders through a Carbon Tax Refund rather than giving politicians another pot of money to spend.

“At a carbon price of around $55, the ETS costs an average household an estimated $478 a year. ACT says that if New Zealanders are going to pay a carbon price, the revenue should come back to them.

“ACT will cut unnecessary costs, protect Kiwi jobs, return carbon revenue to households and let innovation deliver cleaner solutions.

“Cut the waste, grow the country, and unlock New Zealand’s potential.”