Why a carbon tax will put money in your wallet

Now a report by the Australia Institute  claims a carbon tax would leave a typical Australian family $1000 better off.

The report says, if the Government can resist lobbying for exemption and concessions from big polluters (and that's a big if), then a carbon tax of $25/tonne on energy generators would raise $13 billion. That's enough to pay a carbon dividend of $2100 to a family of four. Meanwhile, Treasury calculates the tax would increase electricity and other prices by $18.50 for the average family - under $1000 a year.

Of course, in real life this will depend on how much energy you use.

But that's the whole point of a carbon price; to encourage us to be more energy efficient, to drive less and to switch to less fossil-fuel intensive products. Reduce your "carbon footprint" and you'll be better off under a carbon tax.

Of course, if there are winners there must be losers. Shareholders of big polluting industries will see their dividends drop. And that might affect the level of your Super. So maybe it will all even out in the end on the tax money-go-round.

But if the net result is we reduce our use of fossil fuels and finally get on the road to tackling climate change, we'll all be winners in the long run.