$46m carbon tax bill for hospitals, schools
by: EXCLUSIVE BY SIMON BENSON From: The Daily Telegraph June 11, 2012 12:00AM
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THE average Sydney hospital will be hit with a $120,000 annual carbon bill after the $23-a-tonne tax kicks in on July 1.
Local public schools will also be forced to come up with an extra $9000 a year on their power bills to pay their carbon liability.
Revised analysis from NSW Treasury dated May 4, 2012, reveals that NSW hospitals and schools would have the highest carbon tax liabilities of any government agency.
The new modelling of the carbon tax impact on government services included in tomorrow's state budget reveals NSW Health would have a $106 million carbon cost over the four-year forward estimates - or $27 million a year.
The budget will confirm a cumulative four-year carbon impact of $948 million.
With 220 hospitals across NSW, the average cost to power each hospital will increase by $120,000 a year, according to the budget papers.
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Hospitals are particularly energy intensive due to the hi-tech operating, diagnostic and emergency equipment and the fact they are open 24 hours a day.
But the education department will also have a four-year liability of $77 million - or $19.25 million a year. With 2177 schools across the state, the average bill increase per year for every school will be $9000.
Railcorp will pay an extra $57 million over four years, or $9000 a year for every one of its 1650 train carriages.
Even NSW Police will be slapped with an annual $4 million increase to power bills for its 500 police stations.
The state's jails would pay an extra $58,000 a year each to cover the carbon tax, while State Transit would pay an extra $1 million a year to run city buses.
The federal government has overcompensated almost 90 per cent of households to assist with bills. Low to middle income families are expected to be up to $5000 a year better off due to tax cuts and increases to family payments.
NSW government agencies will not be compensated and the federal government has in the past accused the O'Farrell government of fudging its figures.
However, the documents obtained from sources in the NSW Treasury reveal the revised modelling is based on the federal government's own carbon modelling which assumes a "cost pass through rate" of about 9 per cent for electricity.
The estimates under this approach are based on conservative assumptions about the effect of the carbon tax on electricity prices, the budget document says.
Premier Barry O'Farrell has already planned to recoup the cost from an increase in mining royalties - a move likely to provoke retaliatory action from the federal government through its royalty rebate scheme under the mining tax.
State Treasury officials are angered by federal government claims their figures are wrong and claim they have been politicised by the Gillard government despite having advised a former Labor state government for 17 years.
Climate Change Minister Greg Combet yesterday attacked Opposition Leader Tony Abbott for a tax scare campaign, claiming he would be proven wrong. "It has been the most ridiculous, deceitful campaign in politics I can remember."
http://m.dailytelegraph.com.au/news...ospitals-schools/story-e6freuy9-1226390600021
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