Abbott government begins process to repeal carbon tax; says pressure on Labor to honour mandate

Updated

The Coalition is already piling pressure on the Labor Party to "honour" the new government's mandate to repeal the carbon tax.

Prime Minister-elect Tony Abbott yesterday instructed his department to begin drawing up the legislation to dump the carbon pricing scheme, and says Federal Parliament will resume in late October or early November to deal with it.

"My emphasis will be on being purposeful, methodical, calm and conscientious," he told Fairfax radio.

"And the last thing I want to do is rush the Parliament back for a photo opportunity before the substance of the work is there for it to do."

The Coalition is on track for a 32-seat majority after wresting a swathe of seats from Labor and independents in Tasmania, New South Wales and Victoria in Saturday's poll.

Mr Abbott's spokesman - and likely minister - for the environment, Greg Hunt, says scrapping the carbon tax will be new government's "first order of business".

"We want to set out now to do what we said we would do, and the only people who stand between Australia and lower electricity prices are the Labor Party," Mr Hunt said.

However, both Labor and the Greens have indicated they will not support moves to dump the carbon pricing scheme, nor will they support the Coalition's direct action scheme to address climate change.

Senior Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen says his party's stance is clear.

"The Labor Party believes that climate change is real," he said.

"The Labor Party believes that we need to do something about it. The Labor Party believes that a market mechanism is the best way to do that, and we won't be walking away from those beliefs."

Labor's opposition to the moves, would leave the bills deadlocked in the Senate and could trigger a double dissolution election - an option Mr Abbott has said is on the table.

The alternative would be to wait until the newly elected senators take their seats next July, though that would mean negotiating with a disparate group including South Australian senator Nick Xenophon and, potentially, two senators from the Palmer United Party and one from the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party.

Mr Abbott says Labor and the minor parties should respect the new government's mandate.

"In the end they all need to respect the government of our nation has a mandate and the Parliament should work with the government of the day to implement its mandate," he told Fairfax radio.

"Now I know it's a two-way street and respect has got to be earned rather than merely demanded, but nevertheless the people voted for change and change they will get.

"And I am determined that the Parliament delivers them the change that they want."

Pyne says Senate will be workable

But senior frontbencher Christopher Pyne believes the new Senate make-up will be more amenable than the current one.

"I think the Senate will end up being messy, yes, but we can work it," he said.

"So, if it's a choice between Family First or Nick Xenophon or the Sports Party, I would rather have one of them, who are basically centre-right and respect the will of the people, than the Greens or the Labor Party who don't."

Greens leader Christine Milne, whose party will hold the balance of power for the next 12 months, says the incoming minor party senators may still prove to be a challenge to work with.

"When the new Senate takes place, he will have to get six out of eight - if the current numbers are the ones that are returned - six out of eight of those people to vote with him at any one time and who knows where they stand on anything," she said.

"For most of them, there is no policy platform, there is no philosophical view."

For his part, billionaire mining magnate turned political leader Clive Palmer says he supports scrapping the carbon tax, with conditions.

"Our policy is to repeal the carbon tax and to refund the money from the day it was introduced," he said.

"The Coalition's policy, I understand it, is to repeal the tax but not to refund the amount of money raised by it."

Mr Palmer says he will also push for his party's policies - including an increase to the pension.

"I think we're in a fortunate position that we do have a veto in the Senate and the balance of power with our senators," he said.

"And I think any government will want to ensure the passing of their legislation and hopefully we can convince them that some of these things are very positive for the nation."

The Business Council of Australia has warned senators to abide by the Coalition's mandate.

"They have a decisive mandate by a majority of Australians and a very clear majority," BCA president Tony Shepherd said.

"I think it would be very difficult for a senator to vote against the will, on such important issues, the will of the majority of Australians.

"So I would call for the senators, the existing senators and the new ones, to be very careful how they cast their vote on those two issues given that this has clearly been Coalition policy for a long time and has been supported by a majority of Australians."

Mr Abbott has flagged changes to the voting system for the Senate to ensure voters know exactly who they are voting for and where there preferences will flow, but he says he will wait for advice from a parliamentary committee before acting.

Sorry, this video has expired Video: AEC says there could be a long wait in close seats (ABC News)

Andrew Robb, the Coalition's finance spokesman, says the commission of audit to review the scope and scale of government will be up and running within weeks.

"It's an immediate process. We hope to have it within two to three weeks basically set up and confirmed, so it is very much directed at the quality of the spend.

"It's a big task but it's very long overdue. We did it in 1996 and it proved to be immensely helpful."

Today, briefings on the situation in Syria and the UN Security Council are on the agenda for the Prime Minister-elect as he sets about finalising his frontbench team.

"What I'm most conscious of now is the need to purposefully and methodically set about the business of the nation and set about implementing the particular commitments that we gave to the Australian people," he said.

Mr Abbott has arrived in Canberra to begin the process of taking over government.

Coalition MPs and senators will be called to Canberra for a party room meeting later this week to endorse the leadership team.

The official swearing in is slated for early next week.

Topics: environmental-policy, government-and-politics, federal-government, federal-parliament, social-policy, environmental-management, environment, canberra-2600, act, australia

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