Qld still has carbon tax concerns: Bligh

SYDNEY (AAP) - Premier Anna Bligh is largely supportive of the Gillard government's carbon tax package, but says there are still some things Queensland is concerned about.
Ms Bligh says her government wants to look more closely at what the tax means for heavy vehicle freight, particularly in regional Queensland, and what impact it will have on the state's electricity generators and the liquefied natural gas industry.
"There are many parts of the carbon tax package that I welcome," Ms Bligh told reporters in Brisbane on Monday.
"I'm very pleased with the level of household assistance, very pleased to see our farmers get an opportunity to be involved in carbon trading and carbon credits, but we will be looking closer at what it means for heavy vehicle freight, particularly in a state like Queensland and what it means for the value of our state-owned electricity generators."
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan says he plans to talk with the state government about what the tax will mean.
"I'll talk to the state treasurer about those issues but we announced yesterday some very significant issues to deal with energy security and also to make sure that some of our dirtiest power stations do make the transition to a clean-energy future," Mr Swan told Brisbane reporters.
"But they're issues that we'll talk to the state treasurer about and other state treasurers as well."
Mr Swan has confirmed that 100 of the 500 companies that will pay the carbon price are in Queensland.
Ms Bligh said we have to look at the broader issues and what the tax will mean for the environment, especially the many attractions that Queensland hosts.
"It's a package that means we can as a nation address the issue of carbon in our environment and as Queenslanders, with our responsibilities for the Great Barrier Reef and three world heritage areas, we've got to take that responsibility seriously too.
The premier said Queensland had made 13 submissions to the federal government in May about what might be contained in the carbon tax package and said 11 of those 13 submissions were agreed to.
Ms Bligh plans to meet with mining industry leaders later this week to discuss the impact of the tax with them.
She said she understood they would be unhappy with losing some of their profit, but the modelling she has been shown pointed to an impact of just 0.4 per cent.
"If that's the cost of protecting the Great barrier Reef and Australia's precious environment I think that's a pretty good balance."
She said she was also willing to take the heat for her general support of the carbon tax, saying major economic reforms were never easy.
Ms Bligh said Labor campaigned against the GST and she now says they got it wrong.
She does not expect people to punish her at the next election because it is largely a federal issue and most people in Queensland want to protect the environment.
But Liberal National Party (LNP) leader Campbell Newman told reporters in Brisbane that it was a state issue he planned to fight.
"This should just be a federal policy debate but when we've got a premier and a treasurer who say they support the carbon tax, who won't stand up for Queensland, then it will be a state issue," Mr Newman said.
"My team and I will be fighting this every single day in the weeks and months to come up to the state election."