Part 3/10:
Revisiting a Controversial Past: Why Was the Carbon Tax Abandoned?
The debate around the reintroduction of a carbon tax is not new. Australia once had what many considered the world's best carbon policy—an emissions pricing mechanism introduced by Julia Gillard's government. However, political pressure and electoral backlash led to its repeal in 2014 after a national referendum and significant opposition.
Critics ask: why did we ever drop it? They argue that abandoning the carbon tax was a political miscalculation, driven by short-term electoral considerations rather than environmental or economic logic. A fervent reminder is that Tony Abbott’s government decisively overturned the Gillard-era tax, aligning with the electorate's preference at the time.