An industry that earns tens of billions of dollars a year in export earnings and employs a quarter of a million Australians generates significant negative externalities. What should a government do? Cap the exports, the government decides, in an effort to negate the externalities.
Another industry that earns tens of billions a year in export earnings and employs around 20,000 Australians generates significant, even catastrophic, negative externalities. What does a government do? Lavish taxpayer handouts on it and encourage it to expand without any effort to curb its externalities.
Welcome to Labor policymaking, 2024.
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