Carbon tax no calamity for Queensland, says report

The federal carbon pricing scheme will have a “relatively small” impact on the Queensland economy over the next 10 years, but the state will be hit harder in the longer term.
New Queensland Treasury modelling suggests employment will grow at two per cent a year regardless of whether a carbon price is introduced, with 474,000 extra jobs expected to be created by 2020.
It says the carbon price will cost the state budget between $251 million and $360 million each year, totalling $1.2 billion between now and 2015-16.

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State Labor Treasurer Andrew Fraser said this impact was mainly due to lost revenue from state-owned electricity generators, an issue the government was still pursuing with Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Mr Fraser used the modelling to dismiss claims of looming “economic calamity” as a result of the carbon price, but the opposition today continued its attack on the “big new tax”.
State growth would be about 0.4 per cent lower than it otherwise would have been by 2019-20, and 3.5 per cent lower by 2049-50, according to the document. But growth of 3.5 per cent a year would continue.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/carbon-tax-no-calamity-for-queensland-says-report-20110823-1j82n.html#ixzz1VuxD4h30