Shadow Minister for Tourism Bob Baldwin has described Labour’s carbon tax as a “slap in the face” to people in the Australian travel industry.

The new carbon-reduction scheme was announced by Prime Minister Julia Gilliard earlier this month, and will see major companies like Qantas redirect the price into its fares. 

Mr Baldwin explained that charging travellers extra on domestic holidays will make it “less price competitive” compared to international holidays.

“Taxing only domestic flights shows just what an environmental farce the carbon tax really is,” Mr Baldwin said.

“Tourists will pay carbon tax if they fly 320 kilometres from Sydney to Port Macquarie, but they won’t pay carbon tax if they fly 2,481 kilometres from Sydney to Port Vila in Vanuatu.

“It’s not hard to work out you’ll burn more fuel, and generate more emissions, flying 2,481 kilometres than you will flying 320 kilometres.”

He added that the tax is likely to “clean out” airports before it will “clean up the environment” and it will increase the cost for Aussies to travel around their own country.

“Ms Gillard is penalising Australians for holidaying in their own country and that is a slap in the face to every one of our tourism operators and the 500,000 Australians working in the tourism industry,” he stated.

According to the Shadow Minister, in 2007, Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson explained that a $30 per tonne carbon tax would “kill the aviation industry”.  

“If a $30 carbon tax would kill Australian aviation, and the tourism industry that relies on it, how is a $23 carbon tax suddenly good for the industry?”

While Mr Baldwin expresses concern for the domestic travel industry, Voyager Travel chief executive Richard Savva told e-Travel Blackboard last week that he does not believe the carbon tax will impact the Australian MICE industry.