Australia’s industrial, resources and manufacturing sectors have warned of ongoing policy chaos, rising power prices and increased operating costs as the Coalition moves to oppose Labor’s Safeguard Mechanism reforms, gifting Adam Bandt the whip-hand in potentially making the government’s cornerstone climate plan more painful to business.

Urging the Coalition to give bipartisan support to the government’s crediting legislation, companies and business groups said the offset scheme would ensure Labor’s heavy-emissions reduction scheme gave firms flexibility to manage their decarbonisation.