CSIRO Ignored on Carbon Tax

30-May-2011

Just months after it was revealed that the Prime Minister Gillard never even met her then Chief Scientist, a Senate Estimates hearing was told today that the CSIRO hasn’t ever been asked to analyse the different market mechanisms for pricing carbon.

CSIRO’s Chief Executive, Dr Megan Clark, informed the hearing that her organisation “(hasn’t) been doing modelling on the different market mechanisms for pricing carbon”.

Dr Clark said she was not aware that CSIRO had analysed the impact of a carbon price on Australian manufacturing.

This followed testimony earlier today that the CSIRO’s studies on climate change represented “a very large body of work” and that around 1,200 papers would have been produced by the agency during the last 4 – 5 years alone.

“CSIRO has dedicated divisions and ‘flagships’ for climate change and manufacturing. It is a disgrace that the Government has not asked CSIRO to assess the impact of a carbon tax on manufacturing,” said Shadow Industry Minister Sophie Mirabella.