Cash for Clunkers: “Pink Batts on Wheels” a gold class standard for failure, inconsistency and spin

16/08/10

The Cash for Clunkers “Pink Batts on Wheels” scheme has become the gold class standard bearer for Labor’s policy failures and inconsistency.

Take for instance how the scheme was funded.

To offset the cost of the Cash for Clunkers scheme Labor will cut its carbon capture and storage programme that is meant to help industry develop the technology to fit carbon capture storage technology to new power stations

Yet Julia Gillard has also announced that no new coal fuelled power station will be built unless it can be fitted with carbon capture technology which the Carbon Capture and Storage Programme is meant to assist industry do.

This is a robbing Peter to pay Paul approach to policy.

Now Industry Minister Kim Carr has announced that he will also cut the Green Car Innovation Fund which he said works in tandem with the Cash for Clunkers “Pink Batts on Wheels” scheme

Writing in The Australian last week Mr Carr boasted about the symbiotic relationship of the two schemes. He wrote:

“The Clean Car Rebate, mandatory emission standards and existing programs such as the Green Car Innovation Fund will work in harmony to reduce the environmental cost of road transport in this country.”

Not any more it seems with the cuts that Mr Carr announced.

So it seems that Ms Gillard robs one scheme to pay for another scheme then makes a promise to reduce CO2 for which the first scheme needs funding if her promise is to be met.

Then you have Kim Carr robbing another scheme that is meant to work in tandem with Cash for Clunkers to help it achieve its goals.

So we have a scenario where Ms Gillard robbed one programme of $150 million to cut greenhouse gases to pay for another programme that is meant to cut greenhouse gases and then we have Kim Carr cutting $237 million from a programme that will “work in harmony” with Cash for Clunkers which is also meant to cut CO2.

Confused? You have every right to be.

Not a wonder that David Purchase of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce told Goauto on August 3 that he had doubts about the scheme.

“I am inclined to think that this is more about spin and being seen to do something for the environment than actually getting inefficient and unsafe cars off the road”, he said.

This is clearly a shambolic government with inconsistent policies that are made up on the run.

It is a recipe that would guarantee the same disastrous approach to economic management and waste the characterised the Rudd/Gillard government.