Combet opens door to carbon tax tweaks

LABOR says it is prepared to "tweak" its carbon tax if unforeseen problems arise, as Tony Abbott warns of an immediate hit to consumers.

LABOR says it may "tweak" its carbon tax if unforeseen problems arise, as John Howard did in relation to GST compliance.

Julia Gillard said day one of her carbon tax represented a reform victory for Labor, declaring: "We have got this done."

The opposition's "reckless and false" claims about the measure would now be exposed, the Prime Minister said.

But Tony Abbott refused to take a backwards step, warning of an immediate hit to consumers from a "bad tax based on a lie".

"It will play havoc with household budgets as food, electricity, gas and the price of essentials all go up," the Opposition Leader said.

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said Labor believed it had got its carbon pricing framework right.

But he said he was prepared to make changes to elements of the scheme if it became necessary.

"If some tweaking is justified, of course we'll consider it," Mr Combet told Network ten's Meet the Press.

"But it has been debated for four years essentially, in great detail, with the business community and people understand exactly what it involves in the business community."

The Howard government axed quarterly business activity statements for small businesses less than a year after the GST was introduced amid a voter backlash.

However, Labor says the carbon tax compliance burden will be far less than that associated with the GST, as the tax will only be imposed on the nation's biggest polluters.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, took a swipe at the competition watchdog over its warning to firms not to misrepresent price hikes.

ACCI industry policy director Greg Evans said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was attempting to mask the impact of the carbon tax and urged it to "respect the position of Australian businesses".

"It's basically saying to business, don't attribute price rises to the carbon tax otherwise we'll come after you," he said. "I can't really understand necessarily the logic of the ACCC position."

The Prime said the introduction of the carbon tax was the culmination of many years of debate, and the opposition would not be able to tear it apart.

She said if Mr Abbott won the election he would attempt a "fiddle" to suggest he had got rid of the tax.

But it would be so well entrenched, and its compensation too hard to remove, that he would not be able to get rid of the measure.

"Against all of that backdrop, Mr Abbott will find himself in a position where he cannot go to the next election pretending anything else than carbon pricing is going to stay," she said.

However, Mr Abbott said his first act as prime minister would be to begin rescinding the tax, and Australians now had a clear choice.

"If you elect a Coalition government, there will be not carbon tax, and I can be believed when I say 'there will be no carbon tax under a government I lead'," he said.

"Australia, this campaign is now on. What do you think of this carbon tax? What do you think of prime ministers who tell lies before elections?"

A new opposition advertisement released today replays Ms Gillard's pre-election commitment that "there will be no carbon tax under the government I lead".

"Labor lied and now we're all being hit with a carbon tax a broken promise that pushes up prices every day," it says.

Greens Leader Christine Milne claimed "a great deal" of credit for the introduction of a carbon price on behalf of her party, saying it was a victory for minority government.

The Greens had played a "central" role in securing a carbon price and had negotiated its inclusion in the 2010 power sharing agreement with Julia Gillard, she said.

Senator Milne said if a majority government had been returned at the 2010 election, no steps towards carbon pricing would have taken place.

She was confident the public would come to accept carbon pricing, but said it "remained to be seen" how Ms Gillard's own political fortunes would play out given her promise before the election not to introduce a carbon tax.