The government claims removal of the carbon price would send household energy prices tumbling, saving the average household $3000 over six years from July 1, when it would come into effect. Prime Minister Tony Abbott will introduce legislation to repeal the carbon tax in the next sitting of parliament. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Failure to pass the repeal legislation before July 1 would either delay the scrapping substantially or require any legislation passed subsequently to be retrospective. The government's urgency comes despite repeated Labor commitments to combine with the Greens to block any repeal in the Senate, the configuration of which does not change until July. Mr Abbott said he wanted to give new Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, whom he described as ''nothing if not a political pragmatist'', a chance to repent because the election had shown clear public support for scrapping the carbon price.

''The people of Australia understandably want lower cost of living and they want more secure jobs,'' Mr Abbott said. "Households will be better off to the tune of $550 a year.": Tony Abbott. Credit:Katherine Griffiths ''This bill gives them both. That's why the pressure on the Labor Party in the end not to oppose this bill, I believe, will be irresistible. ''Australian households will be better off to the tune of $550 a year. ''When this bill is passed, the government estimates that power prices will go down by 9 per cent, gas prices will go down by 7 per cent, and that means that the average power bill will be $200 a year lower and the average gas bill will be $70 a year lower.''

Asked whether he wanted the Senate vote before Christmas, Mr Abbott said: ''The short answer, if you like, is yes.'' ''But I'm only the PM,'' he added with a wry smile. ''I realise that the Senate operates in accordance with its own rhythms and patterns. I would like the Senate to consider this matter as quickly as possible.'' Mr Abbott would not repeat statements by other members of his government that the carbon price repeal would inevitably lead to a double dissolution if frustrated by the Senate. The government preference for a vote in both houses before Christmas suggests the Prime Minister wants, at the very least, the threat of a snap poll and the political bargaining leverage that comes from keeping the option alive. Under the provisions of the constitution designed to resolve deadlocks between the two houses of Parliament, a prime minister can ask the governor-general to dissolve both and order a fresh election if a bill is rejected or otherwise amended in an unacceptable way, twice over a greater than three-month interval.

Opposition climate change spokesman Mark Butler told Fairfax Radio that Labor had announced it would terminate the carbon tax under Kevin Rudd's leadership, but said the Coalition did not have a plan for replacing it. "There must be a credible policy to combat climate change put in its place. And that’s what’s lacking from the legislation that the government released yesterday," he said on Wednesday. Mr Butler said Labor would look at the legislation "on its merits" and would not be "cowed" by threats made by the Coalition. When asked if he thought a double dissolution was on the cards, he replied: "It is possible and ultimately would be a decision made by the government." His comments came as Allan Behm, former chief-of-staff to former climate change minister Greg Combet, described the repeal legislation as a "total annihilation" of Labor's carbon tax policy.

"The exposure draft is a pretty comprehensive and total document," he told Fairfax Media's Breaking Politics. Mr Behm explained that while some small programs would be left behind by the Coalition's repeal legislation, the major building blocks regarding the transformation of the economy would be "blown away". Loading With Judith Ireland