In an ironic situation BHP Billiton CEO Marius Klopper and the Greens leader Senator Bob Brown seem to have found common ground.
Mr. Klopper has called for a carbon tax to be levied to protect the long term economic interests of the country. This is exactly what the Greens have been hoping to set in motion as well.
Marius Klopper said that it should be a simple carbon tax rather than the complex one based on emissions trading scheme that was explored in the first term of the Labor government under ex-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
He said that despite the failure of the Copenhagen summit a global climate deal will be reached eventually. Australia would need to keep ahead and stay competitive by reducing its current dependence on the cheaper coal fired electricity.
In reaction to Mr Klopper's statement Senator Bob Brown said that it sounded very much like the Greens policy while going in to the election. A simple market mechanism based carbon tax, with the ability to build in a carbon trading scheme if the rest of the world heads in that direction.
The Climate Change Minister Greg Combet will not be able to recycle the old emissions trading scheme for the new Julia Gilard led government in the present case scenario.