By Stephen Johnson For Daily Mail Australia
Published: 03:38 GMT, 20 March 2019 | Updated: 03:39 GMT, 20 March 2019
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Petrol prices could soar to $2.33 a litre while rolling blackouts strike Australia's biggest cities if Labor wins the next election, the government has warned.
With the Coalition struggling in the opinion polls, federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor has stepped up his attack on Labor's plan to slash carbon emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.
He has seized on a report by BAEconomics, a Canberra-based consultancy, which predicted Labor's policy would see a $326 carbon price per tonne of emissions imposed on the economy.
Petrol prices could soar to $2.33 a litre as rolling blackouts griped Australia's biggest cities if Labor won the next election, the government has warned (stock image)
'The carbon penalty – whether it's a shadow price or an explicit carbon tax – required to achieve a 45 per cent reduction in emissions by 2030, will increase the average price of petrol to around 233 cents per litre, and diesel up to around 245 cents per litre,' Mr Taylor said in a speech on Wednesday.
Mr Taylor's calculation was based on unleaded prices in Australia surging by 24 cents for every dollar of the $326 carbon price, on top of an average petrol price of $1.55 a litre.
Using advice from the Department of Energy, he argued this would push up regular unleaded prices by 78 cents a litre to $2.33.
He also
