The Australian Gift & Homewares Association (AGHA) has launched a campaign in a push for the federal government to cancel its carbon tax scheme, describing the tax as “an ill-conceived and lazy approach to the issue of climate change”.
AGHA’s CEO, David Leek said there had been inadequate consideration given to how the carbon tax would impact on a retail and wholesale sector that had already been hard hit by a challenging economic climate.
“Our members have been bearing the brunt of substantial increases in the price of food and services over the past 10 years. The ever shrinking availability of discretionary spending that our industry relies on has declined to a point where any additional impost will push a lot of our members to the wall,” he said.
“We don’t for a moment dispute the seriousness of climate change, but anything that puts people out of work at a time when jobs are becoming increasingly scarce is a major concern for our association.”
As part of the campaign, AGHA has launched a national advertising campaign and a website – www.agha.com.au/yourcarbontax – encouraging members and supporters to email their local Federal MP to express their opposition to the carbon tax.
Leek said AGHA aims to force the government to listen to the voices of its members and the small business community and fundamentally change its approach to dealing with the issue of climate change.
The association is also sourcing expert support to highlight to its members the importance of reducing their carbon output and provide practical steps to help businesses achieve carbon reductions.