It’s a big week in Australia, for Carbon Tax and for the Labour Government. Today Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her government announced the Carbon Tax Scheme. Naturally there will be the scare campaign from the opposition and the promise from the Prime Minister this is the best thing for supporting sustainability and slowing climate change. The normal political circus acts will be prevalent.
Leadership and The Carbon Tax
I don’t think there is anyone in this country who could stand up and say with conviction that we should not do something as a nation to prevent climate change and support sustainability. We need to do something to reform current practices that are polluting our environment. I think we are agreed on that in the majority. The government has to act and they’ve done that by introducing the Carbon Tax Scheme.
My question is, in support of their strategy, are they communicating the benefits of introducing this carbon tax scheme? Are they communicating the benefits on a global scale, chunked down to a local level and also then the benefits to the population and future generations? It’s one thing to say we need to do this but what are the benefits to the every day Australian and why should they support this particular strategy?
I think the challenge for the Prime Minister and government is to carefully and cleverly articulate the benefits, short, medium and long term of the Carbon Tax Scheme. They need to do this with passion and conviction so as to overcome the scare campaign that the opposition has been running for some time.
Communication is 85% of your success as a leader. Julia Gillard’s ability to communicate her Carbon Tax Scheme will determine its success and ultimately her success at the next election. This is a perfect opportunity for her to let go of the rehearsed blurb and body language, get real with her people and sell her Carbon Tax Scheme with volition. If she misses this opportunity to sell the benefit, people will look for the negatives. And the potential great message for our global sustainability will be lost.