BCCAN has campaigned on the issue of climate change since the group was formed eight years ago.

“We’ve been campaigning for carbon pricing since we found out about the predictions,” BCCAN president Tracey Carpenter said.

According to BCCAN, axing the price for carbon usage is an “act of policy vandalism”.

The group believes the Federal Government is “being fiscally irresponsible, economically stupid and showing dreadful ignorance about what is needed for effective climate policy”.

Ms Carpenter said the government needs to continue with carbon pricing, which has proven to be successful.

“[The government should] leave in place a system that is working at minimal cost, that is raising money for essential areas,” she said. 

However, Member for Calare John Cobb denies there is an issue with repealing the carbon tax.

“The carbon tax doesn’t even achieve what it set out to and has been an environmental and economic failure,” he said.

“In its first full year of operation the carbon tax saw an emissions reduction of 0.1 per cent, despite a $7.6 billion tax. Over two years the carbon tax has cost $15.4 billion. 

“In addition, domestic emissions under the carbon tax are projected to rise through to 2020.”

According to Mr Cobb, the Federal Government has already put measures in place to ensure savings are passed on when the carbon tax is revoked.

These measures will see the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) given new powers to take action against businesses that exploit prices following the repeal of the carbon tax.

The ACCC has been provided with $10 million in additional resources to undertake these new activities.

“The ACCC has indicated that its expectation is that consumer electricity bills should fall quickly and in full following repeal, by the amount of the carbon tax,” Mr Cobb said.

He added that revoking the carbon tax is essential for the residents of regional Australia and will take pressure off families.

“The scrapping of the carbon tax will benefit Calare and regional Australia enormously, much more than our city counterparts, as regional Australian households are greater users of electricity due to our increased need for heating and cooling,” Mr Cobb said.

Ms Carpenter, however, said that Australian’s don’t want the carbon pricing repealed and offered a range of statistics on the matter.

These statistics showed 40 per cent of people thought carbon pricing was better than taking no action.

“The government’s childish obsession with ‘axing the tax’ is not shared by a majority of Australian’s,” she said.

Mr Cobb said these statistics should be “interpreted with caution” and his own polling had shown the Bathurst residents did not support the carbon tax, with 66 per cent saying Australia should reduce it’s emissions without a carbon take and only 16% saying no. 

“I believe this information holds more weight than a survey conducted online of an unknown demographic by an unknown source.”