Carbon tax clings to life as face-off deepens

THE carbon tax was on life support last night after Labor and the Greens exhausted time in the Senate.

THE carbon tax was on life support last night after Labor and the Greens exhausted time in the Senate and challenged the impact of Clive Palmer-inspired amendments to pass repeal savings to consumers.

Debate on the carbon tax repeal bills will resume this morning, with government sources predicting the legislation will pass today.

Greens leader Christine Milne argued that debate in the Senate yesterday confirmed the government could not guarantee families would be financially better off without a price on pollution.

“Not only will households have to deal with global warming, but the $550 they now think they’re getting? Forget it. It’s a mirage,” Senator Milne said.

She also claimed Mr Palmer’s amendments would be a “yellow tape mess’’ and would tie up households and business.

But Tony Abbott told parliament during question time that the chairman of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission Rod Sims had said “what went up will come down when you take away the carbon tax’’.

The Prime Minister said the Energy Supply Association of Australia had declared savings from the removal would be fully passed through to gas and electricity customers once the parliament repealed the carbon tax.

The government and the Palmer United Party argue that changes to the amendment to ensure savings are passed on to consumers, made between the original being submitted last week and moved by the government on Monday, will limit the impact of the amendment to large electricity and gas retailers.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann accused Labor and the Greens of wasting the Senate’s time and dragging out the debate on the carbon tax repeal.

“What we’ve got here today is a Labor-Green shiftwork, tag team, relay filibuster,” Senator Cormann said.

“This has gone around and around in circles.”

The debate dragged out despite the Senate agreeing to extend its sitting hours to pass a raft of government bills including the Qantas Sale Act, the mining tax repeal and the government’s asset recycling plan.

The Senate now faces sitting at the weekend and returning every day for 14 hours after tomorrow until all the bills are dealt with. Parliament is due to rise tonight for a five-week break.