Political pragmatism pre-empts policy purity producing paradox

Climate change policy is meant to be driven by price signals, the govt blinked at the first crisis. (Image: Getty)

Wed, 16 Mar 2022

The government’s decision to partially cut petrol taxes is a victory for political pragmatism over policy purity, but it does raise questions about the future direction of climate change policy.On Monday, the government reacted quickly to soaring petrol prices and a growing political clamour over a cost of living crisis.It cut 25 cents a litre off the excise which funds land transport projects, promised a similar reduction for diesel users through road user charge reductions and said it would subsidise public transport further to cut...

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