A fair dinkum carbon tax debate will show why Tony Abbott is no idiot

So with China overtaking the US as the world's biggest consumer of energy in 2010, can Westerners really kid themselves that we can rely on such a mercantile nation to make the necessary reforms while developed nations have a smaller impact on global greenhouse gas emissions through their own national cuts?

After all, it is the non-OECD Asia region that is expected to account for nearly 90 per cent of the total world increase in coal use from 2006 to 2030 with China's installed coal-fired generating capacity projected to nearly triple from 2006 to 2030.

Prime Minister Gillard and others may delude themselves that Australia's carbon tax will make an important difference. Just days ago, Gillard bragged how the ACTU stole the march on the anti-tax protesters on March 24 by delivering a petition singed by about 10,000 "working Australians" to the Climate Change Minister Greg Combet supporting action to reduce emissions. Further, the Labor backbencher Nick Champion declared those attending the anti-tax rally as "extremists".

To conclude, while the Department of Climate Change argues that Australia's greenhouse gas levels will rise 24 per cent by 2020 (on 2000 levels) if no carbon price is introduced, the evidence justifies the Coalition's bid to offer an alternative policy strategy that both upholds the national interest and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Such facts should be brought to the attention of the Australian people, and the fate of the carbon tax should be decided at the next election.