The impact of the carbon tax will vary depending on who you are, where you live, and what you do. But for Slim Jones in Mackay, the carbon tax provided some inspiration. Thanks to Slim for dropping in this poem to my electorate office.
The Carbon Tax
If you listen to the pollies
They will fill your ears with lies
There’s a big hole in the ozone
From the carbon in our skies
But they say they’re gonna mend it
And then we can relax
Cause there’ll be no more pollution
If we get the carbon tax
We’ll open up more coal mines
And we’ll send it overseas
We won’t use it in Australia
So our conscience will be free
It won’t be us that does it
Don’t lay that on our backs
We’ll be free of accusations
If we get the carbon tax
We won’t need UV protection
For the sun won’t shine as hard
And the common cold will vanish
And we’ll show our disregard
Yes, our records of achievement
May have been a little lax
But they’ll all change in a minute
If we get the carbon tax
We might have overspent a bit
And bought a vote or two
And things are pretty desperate
What else is there to do
I recall the last election
All their figures in the black
It’s red now but we’ll fix it
If we get the carbon tax
The air we breathe will all be fresh
From mountains cool and sweet
Our cars will run on ethanol
No more gasses in our street
No need to see a doctor
No more early heart attacks
All that stuff will go forever
If we get the carbon tax
We’ll live like kings, we surely will
Our jobs will be secure
And no more acid rain for us
All our water clean and pure
And we all will live in mansions
No more humble wooden shacks
The trees will grow much taller
If we get the carbon tax
You may well ask and wonder
How we’ll achieve this goal
Well vote us in and you will see
What we do with all this coal
Just leave the clever stuff to us
And money, you’ll have stacks
We might even raise the pension
If we get the carbon tax
Those potholes in the road will go
That have been there all these years
The price of fuel and food may rise
But put away those fears
Our way of life might change a bit
And our roads may turn to tracks
But we promise they’ll be better
If we get the carbon tax
You may question how we do it
You may question what we do
And we know your life’s a battle
For we know what you’ve been through
You might often shop at Lifeline
And you sort through Vinnies’ racks
But things will change forever
If we get the carbon tax
Yep, it’s money that’s the answer
We can tell you that today
When we get it you will notice
That the smog has gone away
We need only click our fingers
No more smoking chimney stacks
But first we need the money
So we need the carbon tax
And for you who live in Queensland
We feel sorry for you lot
We know the way we’ve let you down
And the rough deals that you’ve got
But this world will change tomorrow
For the Bills and Bobs and Jacks
But there’s no way we can do it
Without the carbon tax