Senator Wong and the Federal Government claim that food prices won't increase under their ETS but many clear facts point to the reality that prices are most certainly destined to increase under the proposed ETS.

Predicting the exact amount of the food price hike post-ETS isn't an exact science. However, the Australian Retailers Association predicts that food prices will jump about 5%. Other groups say up to 7% while the Reserve Bank has admitted that the ETS will add .4% to the Consumer Price Index.

Whichever modelling you accept, the facts are that any tax on food production (let's face it that's what an ETS is) will have to be passed on to food consumers. Can you really imagine Coles or Woolworths absorbing the costs of the ETS in their profit margins?

The Federal Government cannot run from the fact that prices will be higher after you tax the production of food. When you add increases to the actual transport costs, the science is simple, if food costs more to produce and to get to stores, prices have to go up.

Higher food prices is alarming. In an electorate such as my own with a demographic struggling to meet weekly food bills and those same people employed predominantly in either the primary producing sector or food production, the Government's ETS spells disaster.