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This from ‘the Australian’ website  (AAP): 

THE Australian economy is expected to grow despite global economic turmoil and there is no better time to introduce a carbon tax, Prime Minister Julia Gillard says.

At a town hall forum to discuss the carbon tax in Perth, Ms Gillard was pressed on why the government would pursue it with so much uncertainty surrounding global financial markets.

She said she understood that many people would be disturbed to see the dramatic movements on global stockmarkets, the frantic political negotiations over debt in the US and the “widespread mayhem” on the streets of London.

But Australia was a different story, Ms Gillard said, with the country located with Asia where their economies were still growing and unemployment was low.

“What the Treasury is telling us is, we can put a price on carbon and the economy will continue to grow,” she told the Perth audience.

That remains to be seen, Julia!

“If we can cut carbon pollution by 160 million tonnes and still have more jobs, still have economic growth … why wouldn’t you do it?”

Why would you do it? is my answer.

The prime minister was asked in light of telling voters before the last election there would be no carbon tax under a government she led, how did she sleep the night before she decided she would break that pledge.

For someone who normally slept pretty well, Ms Gillard said, she had to think long and hard about the decision.

“It would have been politically easy in many ways to say it’s all too hard but I decided the end result was worth taking the criticism for, for not honouring the words I said in the election campaign,” she said.

Exactly what end result would you be referring to, Julia?

Complete article here.