Carbon tax: Heat rises as voters reject Julia Gillard's plan

ANGRY Australians have vowed to vote Julia Gillard from office at the next election after yesterday's controversial carbon tax announcement.

Scores of voters rejected the plan soon after details of the $24.5 billion package to tackle climate change were revealed, with more than 80 per cent who voted in a national News Limited online poll saying Australia shouldn't have a carbon tax.

Almost 100,000 people voted across four polls in the national plebiscite by 5pm yesterday, with 87.1 per cent saying they planned to change their vote at the next election in light of the tax.

More than 70 per cent of voters, or 15,866 people, said they now planned to vote for the Coalition at the next election while just 8.51 per cent said they would support a Labor government.

Just 13 per cent of voters said they wouldn't change their vote at the next election.

Despite government claims that 90 per cent of Australians would receive compensation, and that 40 per cent of households would be overcompensated, voters said Julia Gillard had signer her fate at the polls.

"They're calling it 'Carbon Sunday' but I like to refer to today as 'Suicide Sunday' for a PM and three independents,'' one reader wrote.

"I cannot wait until the next election. The Labor Party the Greens and the Independants will answer to the Australian people for what they are inflicting upon us. Revenge is a dish best served cold,'' wrote another.

Eighty per cent of voters described the tax as "disgraceful'' while others said it was "inadequate''.

Just eight per cent of voters said they were confident it wouldn't affect their hip pocket.

An anti-carbon tax group said its website crashed after being overwhelmed with people trying to sign up to a campaign rejecting the tax.

The organisers of the site, no-carbon-tax.org, said the site crashed because of the "sheer numbers of people signing up.''

Jobs at Risk From Carbon Tax: CSR Chief

The chief executive of CSR, one of the country’s largest building materials companies, has hit out at the federal government’s proposed carbon tax, saying it will not reduce world carbon emissions and would ultimately drive Australian manufacturing jobs offshore.

With the government set to announce details of the tax this weekend, Rob Sindel used his address to shareholders at CSR’s annual meeting in Melbourne to add to the chorus of business leaders in heavy industries critical of the tax.

He said trade-exposed industries must be given adequate assistance or a mass exodus of manufacturing jobs would result.

‘‘Our message to government is clear,’’ Mr Sindel said.

‘‘All trade-exposed industries must receive full transitional assistance until the rest of the world imposes a similar carbon cost.’’

Shares in carbon-intensive steel producers like BlueScope and OneSteel have rallied sharply in the past week over growing speculation they and other heavy polluters will be almost fully shielded from the carbon tax in the first few years through transitional assistance.

Mr Sindel said CSR’s glass and aluminium businesses was also likely to receive the highest level of transitional assistance but said the rate at which the assistance would be phased out was a critical factor.

‘‘The decay rate is the real sleeper in this,’’ he said.

If the assistance was phased out too quickly, Mr Sindel said 1 million manufacturing jobs, including 4000 from CSR, would be at risk.

‘‘We will fight to protect Australian industry and these jobs,’’ he said.

The country’s largest brickmaker, Brickworks has also made its stance clear against the tax, saying it will increase the cost of housing and spark an exodus of manufacturing jobs and foreign investment.

Mr Sindel said if the government was serious about carbon reduction, it would do more to increase energy efficiency in the building environment. Mr Sindel said buildings accounted for 30 per cent of the country’s energy consumption, of which 40 per cent was wasted.

The Gillard government's carbon tax is expected to start at $23 a tonne and be paid by 500 companies rather than almost 1000 liable under earlier estimates after it decided to remove fuel from the pricing scheme.

pwen@fairfaxmedia.com.au