Labor is warning small businesses against displaying the Coalition's anti-carbon tax posters, saying they risk million-dollar fines if the information is found to be misleading.

The Coalition has sent the fliers to bakeries, butchers, dry cleaners and fruit shops just days before the carbon tax is due to take effect.

The tactic is a further sign that both sides of politics are preparing to ramp up their campaigning efforts surrounding the tax.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott told a meeting of Coalition MPs that he and other senior party figures would be campaigning "across the country", warning people the tax would push up the cost of living and threaten jobs.

Labor is also preparing a coordinated campaign this weekend to reassure the community about the effects of the tax.

Special Minister of State Gary Gray plans to visit the South Australian city of Whyalla on Sunday - a community Mr Abbott said would be "wiped off the map" because of the carbon pricing scheme.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-26/labor-warns-against-displaying-anti-carbon-tax-posters/4094048

 

" It it closes, it would be a rolled gold disaster for Whyalla. This city is almost totally dependent on iron ore and steel. The social and economic costs would be enormous. And the clean-up bill would at least be in the hundreds of millions." /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

Advertisement

"Plus the banks would be the No.1 backers of private property in a place like Whyalla. What would happen to their mortgage book? It would collapse across the board if the markets collapse."

Arrium employs about 6600 people across the country, including 1500 people in South Australia, although not all of those South Australian employees work in Whyalla,  which is home to about 20,000 people.

Close to 3000 members of the company's workforce are based in New South Wales, and about 1000 people are in various sites across Victoria, but it is the Whyalla site that is most at risk since the company went into voluntary administration with an estimated $120 million in orders needed over the next two years for the plant to keep operating.

The company owes the big four banks about $1 billion, with total debts of at least $2 billion and potentially more than 100 other creditors.

Amid growing concern over the future of the steelmaker in Australia, Treasurer Scott Morrison accused Bill Shorten of a "knee-jerk reaction" after the Opposition Leader called for government to preference local steelmakers as he pointed to the bringing forward of an $80 million spend on steel for a government rail project.

"What you don't is you don't get involved in a knee-jerk reaction, the sort of thing that says: 'Let's tear up our trade agreements, let's tear up the jobs in the new economy', to go and play politics with an issue in South Australia," he said.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/liberal-mp-rowan-ramsay-warns-of-whyalla-wipeout-across-the-board-20160408-go1onj.html#ixzz45EVmm2UI
Follow us: @smh on Twitter | sydneymorningherald on Facebook


Yep, Tony Abbott removed the "carbon tax" that he claimed would destroy Whyalla — but did not — then he entered into "free-trade-agreements' with other countries that are about to wipe Whyalla off the map... Well done Tony... Congratulation Tony... Excellent Tony... You are really the king of turds.