NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell jumped onboard Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s carbon price scare campaign again today – incorrectly claiming a carbon price will cost Sydney commuters six times more than independent analysis by the Federal Treasury estimates.

According to media reports, NSW Treasury modelling has predicted a 3.5 per cent impact on the cost of public transport from the introduction of a carbon price, with prices said to start to increase as soon as 1 July, 2012.

Mr O’Farrell should explain how this could be possible when around half of the NSW STA bus fleet runs on CNG, which will not be covered by the carbon price and also the fact that all busses will be excluded from the carbon price for the first two years.

Detailed Federal Treasury modelling has indicated a modest carbon price impact of only 0.5 per cent on public transport.

The same modelling shows the price of a Parramatta to Central train ticket will increase by only 2.3 cents, while a ticket from Penrith will go up by 3 cents. A ferry ticket from Circular Quay to Manly will go up by only 3.3 cents.

For those costs that will be passed through, the Federal Government is providing assistance to households that need it most. 9 in 10 households will receive some combination of tax cuts and increased payments to help them with the cost of living impact of the carbon price, and almost 6 million Australian households will be assisted to meet their average price impact.

It appears that Mr O’Farrell is trying to use the carbon price as an excuse to increase public transport fares above what is justified. He has decided to not only join Mr Abbott’s hysterical fear campaign, but also to lay the foundations for a plan to gouge Sydney commuters.

The Federal Government has tasked the ACCC to monitor prices after the introduction of the carbon price and act against unfair gouging.

The reality that busses and other heavy on road transport will not be covered for the first two years of the carbon price, public transport largely runs on low emission fuels such as CNG and that the carbon price will promote a further switch to low emission fuels exposes Mr O’Farrell’s claims as opportunistic and not credible.

Mr O’Farrell continued his scare campaign this afternoon making absurd claims about the impact of a carbon price on construction materials.

Most construction materials are either not emission intensive and will therefore not be significantly impacted by a carbon price, or are trade exposed and will therefore receive assistance with any price impacts. Just like Mr Abbott’s claims regarding the carbon price impact on housing affordability, Mr O’Farrell conveniently forgets these facts so he can whip up baseless fear. 

Mr O’Farrell would do well to devote his time to tackling the real challenges that the people of NSW are facing, rather than following Mr Abbott’s lead and running about crying wolf to further his own political aims.