Firstly, the mining tax did not produce the results that was expected in income but did frighten many medium and small mining companies to look offshore for future developments.

It takes approximately seven years to develop a mine so even after removing this tax it will take a long time before mining recovers in Australia if ever because of this uncertainty.

Secondly, Australian mines have been the world leaders in environment and occupational health and safety and many countries overseas looked toward Australia for leadership.

Thus Australia’s influence will now be reduced in these areas which seem to be contrary to what the Greens and Labor value.

Thirdly, the carbon tax put pressure on many of our high energy users like pulp and paper mills and aluminium smelters with some small facilities being forced to close.

Again in these industries Australia was a world leader in environmental control.

The product produced by these facilities has now been taken up overseas, so the end result carbon emissions have just been shifted to another country and their environment suffers.

If global warming is a major issue as the Greens and Labor insist then their policies should consider implications and not just be popular politics.

Also I find President Obama’s comments to our young people quite amusing and again it just sounded like popular politics.

However, I do agree that the youth of today must speak out and make governments accountable, but on issues like government debt, the education system and the obesity epidemic.

— JOHN WALKER,

North Wangaratta