Only ACT will cut the Carbon Tax

“Chris Hipkins wants to put the Carbon price up, National wants to keep it the same, only ACT is campaigning to bring it down and lower costs on New Zealanders,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

“Less than two weeks after promising not to increase fuel taxes, Chris Hipkins is now complaining that the carbon price is too low. You can’t tell New Zealanders you’re worried about the price at the pump while campaigning to increase costs that flow through petrol, power, freight and groceries.

“Today’s carbon auction illustrates just how detached climate policy has become from economic reality. The Government refuses to sell carbon credits for less than $71, while exactly the same units have recently traded on the market for around $50.

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

“And instead of treating carbon revenue as another pot of money for politicians to spend, we would return 100 per cent of the net revenue to New Zealanders through a Carbon Tax Refund.

“At a carbon price of around $55, the ETS already costs an average household an estimated $478 a year. Labour now wants to increase that cost on Kiwis, while only ACT has a plan to reduce it.

“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.

“ACT would scrap the arbitrary Net Zero 2050 target and repeal the Zero Carbon Act. Instead of deliberately imposing costs our competitors are unwilling to bear, we would match them so New Zealand maintains market access without exporting Kiwi jobs.

“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.”