David Littleproud, a Nationals MP, has advised the government against enacting a methane tax because it may make meat prohibitively expensive and endanger the Aussie BBQ culture.
In an effort to satisfy the Paris Climate Agreement, Labor is preparing to join a worldwide promise launched by the US government to reduce methane emissions by 30% over the next ten years.
When the worldwide promise was moved forward last year, Australia’s previous Coalition government first declined to sign on.
The second most prevalent greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide, methane is regarded as a major contributor to gas emissions.
Concern regarding a potential methane tax similar to the one suggested in New Zealand has arisen as a result of the government’s efforts to reduce emissions.
The imposition of a tax, according to Mr. Littleproud, would be the “death of the BBQ” since it would destroy the agriculture sector and make meat costly. He criticized the decision to join the pledge.
The Australian BBQ is now under danger. Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, said on Thursday that he wanted to remove the backyard barbecue.
We know how much Australians like their sausages, steaks, rissoles, and lamb dinners, but many people won’t be able to afford them.
We encourage Labor to reject the concept of methane lunacy and to embrace the spirit of Aussie BBQ rather than destroying it because we do not want to see it accessible to just the wealthy.
Mr. Littleproud said that a tax would make Australians’ precarious living circumstances even worse.
With rising gasoline, power, and food costs, Australians are already suffering.
He urged Labor to reconsider the bad plan and start assisting Australian families rather than further harming them.
In order to fulfill emissions objectives, he said, a levy would also require farmers to cut their cattle, which would raise food costs.
Keith Pitt, another Nationals MP, and Mr. Littleproud both said that they would oppose the international agreement to reduce methane emissions and pushed the Albanese administration to do the same.
Whether or if the government was proposing a tax to reduce emissions has not been stated.
A methane tax on farms has previously been rejected by the NSW government.
Dugald Saunders, the Agriculture Minister for the Nationals, said that rather than charging farmers, the state government was collaborating with them to find other methods to cut emissions.
This year, a methane tax was suggested in New Zealand, where the government would charge for the farts and burps of sheep and cows to combat climate change.
The Ardern administration said that the farm tax would be a first for the whole globe and that farmers should be able to recover the expense by raising the price of climate-friendly goods.
Farm lobbying organizations have vehemently opposed the idea.
Agriculture is the primary source of methane emissions in New Zealand, which account for about half of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Beginning in 2025, the policy would charge farmers for their emissions.
Tax revenue will be used to fund agricultural research, development, and other advising services.
The plan is anticipated to get a final approval in December.