Carbon tax backlash in national plebiscite hosted by News Ltd websites

Angry Australians have vowed to vote Prime Minister Julia Gillard from office at the next election after the controversial carbon tax announcement.


Scores of voters rejected the plan soon after details of the $24.5 billion package to tackle climate change were revealed, with more than 80 per cent who voted in a national online poll saying Australia shouldn't have a carbon tax.


Almost 100,000 votes were cast by more than 25,000 people across four polls in News Limited's "Carbon Tax Plebiscite", with 87.1 per cent saying they planned to change their vote at the next election in light of the tax.


More than 70 per cent of voters, or 15,866 people, said they now planned to vote for the Coalition at the next election, while just 8.51 per cent said they would support a Labor government. Just 13 per cent of voters said they wouldn't change their vote at the next election.


Despite government claims that 90 per cent of Australians would receive compensation, and that 40 per cent of households would be overcompensated, voters said Julia Gillard had signer her fate at the polls.
"They're calling it 'Carbon Sunday' but I like to refer to today as 'Suicide Sunday' for a PM and three independents," one reader wrote.


"I cannot wait until the next election. The Labor Party the Greens and the Independants will answer to the Australian people for what they are inflicting upon us. Revenge is a dish best served cold," wrote another. Eighty per cent of voters described the tax as "disgraceful" while others said it was "inadequate".Just eight per cent of voters said they were confident it wouldn't affect their hip pocket.


An anti-carbon tax group said its website crashed after being overwhelmed with people trying to sign up to a campaign rejecting the tax. The organisers of the site, no-carbon-tax.org, said the site crashed because of the "sheer numbers of people signing up."


In the Queensland polls hosted by couriermail.com.au, about 7000 readers voted on four questions, with about 90 per cent believing we should not have a carbon tax, over 60 per cent saying climate change was a myth, and 75 per cent saying they were now more likely to vote for the Coalition.


Source: The Courier Mail