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The government's carbon tax repeal bill will be voted on by the newly configured Senate as early as July 7, but more likely a week later on the 15th - due to Senate procedural rules - after Mr Abbott secured the final crossbench support from Clive Palmer's Palmer United Party.



It will pass with the support of the Coalition, and most of the cross-bench independents and the PUP bloc which includes the Australian Motoring Enthusiasts Party's senator-elect, Ricky Muir.



Mr Abbott met Mr Palmer on Thursday morning and emerged happy that the minor party's four upper house votes would support the abolition of the fixed price, subject to just one condition - a guarantee that the package would contain legislated assurances of cheaper electricity for households.



The pair met in Mr Abbott's Parliament House office for 30 minutes - their first formal meeting in their current roles - to do the deal, jointly sounding the death knell of the policy issue that more than any other, Mr Abbott had built his 2013 election pitch on.



''This government will deliver on its commitment to abolish the carbon tax and I'm delighted that crossbench senators will deliver on their commitment to abolish this toxic tax once and for all,'' a triumphant Mr Abbott told Parliament later in the day.



''I look forward to working with him to ensure all the savings from the abolition of the carbon tax are passed on,'' he added.



The historic agreement came just 14 hours after Mr Palmer, flanked by one of the world's most prominent climate advocates, former US vice-president Al Gore, announced his party bloc would vote to scrap the carbon price.



However, in a setback to the government's overall plan, Mr Palmer also committed to retaining key pillars of the Labor-Greens climate change architecture in the form of the Climate Change Authority, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and the Renewable Energy Target.



The RET is the subject of an review which is due to report next month. There are concerns that mandating a 20 per cent quota for energy from renewable sources, had made electricity more costly and was harming the economy.



Many Liberals want the RET dumped but that option looks to be off the table given Mr Palmer's support. Mr Palmer also skewered the government's ''Direct Action'' plan declaring it was a waste of money and would therefore not receive PUP support.



That has left the friendless scheme in a legal limbo along with more than $1.1 billion in funds already appropriated. It means any future program run under that name may need to be scaled back and done through regulation rather than legislation.



Mr Hunt confirmed the government saw no obstacle to strengthening consumer protections following the dumping of the carbon tax, to ensure households received the full benefits of its removal.



The government has consistently said the tax has cost the average household $550 a year, meaning consumers should receive at least that discount once the tax is removed.



Mr Hunt said the new measures would add to the price monitoring role of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt (left) is congratulated by colleagues including Christopher Pyne and Kelly O'Dwyer. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

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