Carbon trading to hit poor hard

Reid Sexton, April 27, The Age

LOW-INCOME families in areas with poor public transport will be hundreds of dollars a year worse off than hard-up households in the inner city, under the Federal Government's plan to introduce a carbon trading scheme.

The scheme could add more pressure on families already struggling with mortgage stress and rising petrol prices in Melbourne's outer suburbs, where cars are often the only way to get around.

According to a Brotherhood of St Laurence report, poor households in municipalities without public transport will pay up to an additional $1220 a year if the new scheme imposes a levy of $35 a tonne on carbon.

Inner or middle municipalities with good access to public transport will pay between $905 and $1018.

The report, Carbon Use in Poor Victorian Households by Local Government Area, looked at the municipalities with low-income families where carbon emissions were highest — Melton, Brimbank, Yarra Ranges, Cardinia and Whittlesea.

Only Brimbank is identified as having adequate public transport, underlining the link between a far-reaching network and carbon emissions.

Low-income households have less carbon output than the state average — 34.7 tonnes versus 36.5 tonnes annually — but as a proportion of total income they would pay far more under the proposed carbon scheme.

Rural Victoria, where households spend the same on electricity but more on petrol and cars, will be particularly hard hit, with rises of up to $1300 a year.

The findings, the report's authors say, underline the link between poor public transport and car use, and the massive task facing Canberra to ensure the carbon trading scheme doesn't penalise households that are already disadvantaged.

The study supports the findings of a report by Monash University last year, which found that more than 20,000 Melbourne households had incomes of less than $500 a week but used two or more cars because of a lack of public transport.

It found that "forced car ownership" perpetuated social disadvantage by compelling households to spend on cars and car-related products.

Janet Stanley, co-author of the Brotherhood of St Laurence report, said its finding were particularly grim for those in the outer suburbs who would have to continue using cars when carbon trading was introduced.

"It suggests a strong argument for better public transport services around those suburbs," Dr Stanley said.

"These people need to get to work, they need to get to the doctor … these people have no choice but to pay out extra money for mobility.

"It's at a cost to other things in their life. It could be their child can't afford to go on a school camp or they can't afford the school uniform."