If the Prime Minister rejects the offer, Mr Shorten said Labor would oppose the Abbott government’s repeal of the carbon legislation. In that event, Mr Abbott would have to wait until the new Senate begins in July 2014 to abolish the carbon tax. Shadow spokesman on the environment Mark Butler and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten announce Labor is standing firm in backing a price on carbon. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Abbott made abolishing the carbon tax the centrepiece of his successful election campaign, and there is no chance the Prime Minister will accept Labor’s offer. Given Mr Abbott's determination to repeal the carbon tax as first order of business, Labor's ultimatum keeps the possibility alive of a double dissolution election. But the Coalition is understood to want to avoid another poll so soon after the election, and in order for a double dissolution to happen the legislation would need to be rejected twice by the Senate.

Since being elected Mr Abbott has piled pressure on Labor saying he was giving the party the chance to “repent” for breaching the public’s trust by putting in place a carbon tax. The Prime Minister has branded Mr Shorten “Electricity Bill” and suggested that there is no difference between fixed and floating prices on carbon. Both, Mr Abbott argues, are “electricity taxes.” "Labor will never be a rubber stamp for Tony Abbott," Mr Shorten said. "We accept the science of climate change. Tony Abbott doesn't ... We won't be bullied and I won't be bullied by Tony Abbott merely because he doesn't accept the science of climate change." Shadow environment spokesman Mark Butler said Labor would oppose the Abbott government's plans to abolish the Climate Change Authority, saying it was important Australians could get access to independent and reliable information.

Labor’s amendment – which will be released before Parliament resumes mid November – would see an emissions trading scheme begin on July 1, 2014. Unlike Mr Abbott’s Direct Action policy, which pays businesses to reduce their emissions, Labor’s scheme imposes a cap on carbon pollution. Climate policy has vexed Labor and there is broad recognition within the party that former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard comprehensively lost the argument on carbon to Mr Abbott. Mr Rudd shirked carbon action in his first term as prime minister despite branding climate change “the greatest moral, economic and social challenge of our time”. Ms Gillard's prime ministership in particular was plagued by her pre-election promise in 2010 that there would be "no carbon tax" under the government she would lead.

Ms Gillard's deal with the Greens Party to secure power resulted in her reneging on that promise, and Mr Abbott punished her politically for three years on account of the "lie". Since the election Labor's Left and Right factions have been debating what to do about climate change policy in the wake of defeat. Some on the Right reportedly urged Mr Shorten to abandon the fight altogether, as the Coalition did with its unpopular WorkChoices industrial relations policy after the 2007 election defeat. Loading But many in Labor's Left - including senior minister Anthony Albanese - urged the party to stick to its principles and belief in climate science.

Ultimately, Mr Shorten decided Labor's 2013 election position was the right one: to "terminate" the tax but keep the trading scheme.