The Herald Sun ran yesterday with a story that the Municipal Association of Victoria was threatening that “a state government plan to replace the insurance-based fire levy with a property-based tax collected by councils could lead to rate rises of 19-30 per cent“. Also, that according to some councils that would rather simply charge ratepayers more than reduce their energy use, “ratepayers could be slugged up to 3 per cent extra because of the carbon tax”, although nothing in the story actually backs that up – the closest being the figure of 3.5% that Frankston council claims the carbon price AND a state landfill levy will add to its costs.
OK. State government policy potentially raising rates 30%. Carbon price potentially increasing rates in some councils by an amount perhaps possibly about 3% maybe although we can’t find anything to back that claim up specifically.
So the headline?
Yup. Seriously. Where the “Councils warn households face 30 per cent hike” BECAUSE OF A STATE LIBERAL GOVERNMENT POLICY, the Herald Sun runs with a huge headline “Carbon tax to hit rates”.
Utterly shameless.
Meanwhile the paper ran an editorial – also ignoring the compensation package that will result in a majority of their readers being better off even if they don’t reduce their energy consumption – claiming “CARBON tax fear is about to become reality”. Well, the hacks are trying their hardest.
If I were a Herald Sun reader, I’d be pretty insulted by just how much contempt the Southbank propagandists clearly have for me.
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I have heard, but cannot confirm, that the carbon tax is the reason we’re having all these floods this week.
So.
SOME councils MIGHT raise a rate levy of UP TO 30% + SOME councils (maybe the same ones, maybe not) MIGHT add ABOUT 3% (but other councils don’t know yet and might not increase rates at all) =
…..
(thinks)
(mumble mumble add 5, carry 3)
…..
ummm…
JULIAR!!!@!1!
Do I get a prize?
It’s raining today
JULIAR!!!!!!!! spit spit grrrrrrrrrrr
damn you JULIARRRRR and your warmist lies!!
If you look at the comments to that story, you’ll notice that 99% of them took the bait perfectly and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth about Bad Tax, Bad Juliar, Bad Government, etc.
So it worked.
I work with someone who reads the HS and I pointed out the deceit in the headline, but they just said, “well that might be true but it’s going to make some difference isn’t it and I can’t afford another 30% anyway and this governments fucked and so is Gillard and this is what happens under Labor and and and” then her head exploded.
“It’s raining today”
Wait … does that mean the tax is WORKING?!?
Should also mention that the maths on the “average” increases is bunkum. If 3% is $44, then 19% is $279. And if it’s actually an increase of 19 to 30%, how is the “average” $249?