Rudd's ETS will seriously harm economy

The only people that don't seem to recognise this are Krudd & Co, the Treasury, Ross Garnaut, and all their various associated hangers-on. Everyone else realises that it's economic suicide wrapped up in nice green eco-friendly bio-degradable paper. It hasn't even come into force yet, but its effects are already becoming apparent:

The chief executive officer of Nyrstar smelter operations, Greg McMillan, says more than 3,000 jobs are at stake if the Federal Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme goes ahead.

He says the scheme will force the closure of smelters in Port Pirie and Hobart by wiping out their profits.

Mr McMillan says the scheme is futile if other countries such as China and India pick up Nyrstar's business.

"There's a cloud hanging over the future of those businesses and that's very difficult because combine those businesses [and] they export $2 billion a year in exports," he said.

"They're the best part of 3,250 jobs and the best part of $200 million worth of wages."

And this is just one company. Message to Kevin Rudd: Hello? Testing, testing?

Read it here.

UPDATE: The Tasmanian premier David Bartlett is the first Labor politician to come out openly against Krudd & Co's ETS. The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

Mr Bartlett said he would fight to keep the Hobart smelter open.

"I think at the moment, in the Green Paper, (Climate Change Minister) Penny Wong and (Prime Minister) Kevin Rudd have got it wrong," Mr Bartlett told the Tasmanian parliament.

"They have it wrong because they are penalising companies such as Nyrstar."

And Opposition climate change spokesman Greg Hunt also said the ETS needed overhauling:

"The government's plan will drive up unemployment and it will also drive up global emissions by sending Australian jobs overseas," he said.

Hopefully Mr Bartlett won't be the first Labor politician to stand up against the nonsense that is the erroneously named "Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme".

Read it here.