Federal Minister for Resources and Energy Martin Ferguson has promised that states stand to benefit directly from the carbon policies.

 

The announcement by Mr Ferguson comes as both Queensland and New South Wales have voiced their concerns that their state owned coal-fired plants would diminish in value in the event of the introduction of a carbon tax. While Victoria has campaigned for funding to offset the increases in transport costs.

 

All three states have announced their intentions to raise the issues at the next Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in August.

 

However, Mr Ferguson allayed fears that the Federal Government would leave the states without direct compensation funding, saying that he is confident that the funding for alternative energy production is sufficient.

 

So far, the Federal Government has announced that Queensland will receive $440 million and NSW $240 million for solar power plants. The announcement comes as the Education Investment Fund has announced a further $66.5 million in funding for the Moree Solar Farm in NSW.

 

Mr Ferguson said that as a carbon pricing structure becomes more and more integrated into the Australian economy, the value of sustainable energy assets will grow exponentially, offsetting any loses inflicted by the implementation of a carbon tax.