‘Carbon’ and ‘Tax’ seem inextricably linked in political debate but they are separate issues and should be viewed as such, a group of Melbourne’s leading industry CEOs was told on Friday.

Peter Anderson, Chief Executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a member of the government’s Business Round Table on Climate Change, defined the issues of carbon and tax in a Printing Industries CEOs Lunch on Thursday.

“While the Carbon Tax issue is highly political, a great disservice is done to the issue by the oversimplification which characterises political debate,” Anderson said.

“In this instance, this has led to a most unfortunate view that to be opposed to the tax equates to being opposed to the sustainability agenda – a view which is simply not true.

“Many manufacturing businesses, and printers are a great example, are strongly committed to sustainability, not just from an ideological viewpoint but because it makes sense on an economic basis, driving stronger business and meeting commercial imperatives.”

While a carbon tax remains the Gillard government’s key policy for tackling climate change, Anderson reported that the business community believes the mechanism is flawed and is also most concerned about the timing proposed for implementation.

“Trying to bring about a faster rate of change to our behaviour and methods of production is not a silly idea,” he said.

“The motivation is right – but the mechanism and the timing are both open to debate and, I believe, are significantly flawed.

Even if a carbon tax were accepted as the correct mechanism, Anderson pointed out, timing is critical and, in the view of most business leaders, the broader economic situation and particularly the impact of the high Australian dollar make this the worst possible time for such change.