Christine Milne says the Coalition will not call a double-dissolution election to scrap carbon tax

Updated

Greens leader Christine Milne says Prime Minister Tony Abbott does not have the courage to call a double-dissolution election in order to scrap the carbon tax before next July.

Labor on Friday said it would support the repeal legislation if the Coalition accepted amendments that would see the introduction of an emissions-trading scheme.

Labor's position leaves some wriggle room, but not much, and there is no sign the Government will agree to its proposal.

The Coalition has a long-held policy of replacing the carbon tax with its direct-action policy, which would see the Federal Government intervene directly to businesses and homes to lower emissions.

Ms Milne has confirmed that her party will not support the Government's repeal legislation, even with Labor's proposed amendments.

"Labor isn't even clear itself on what its amendments may or may not be. It hasn't said what the target it would want in the bill to be either," she said.

"Labor knows as well as I do that we have an emissions trading scheme already legislated. It is the law in Australia; it's operating with a fixed price and will go to a flexible price.

"What people who care about climate change want to hear is that there is a serious effort in the Federal Parliament to maintain the only scheme we have which is bringing down emissions.

"And that's especially in the week when the scientists are telling us that we have to do much more than we're already doing."

Labor's stance and the Greens' ongoing resistance means, in all likelihood, the Government will have to wait until the new Senate sits next July to pass the repeal bill, or risk going to a double-dissolution election before then.

However, the prospect of a fresh election does not bother Ms Milne.

"I don't think [Tony Abbott] would have the courage to go to a double-dissolution. There are plenty of governments who've had the trigger and not gone to a double-dissolution and I think Tony Abbott would not have the courage to do it frankly," she said.

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox says it is positive Labor would consider supporting the repeal, but he thinks its conditions for doing so are unrealistic.

"I think the last thing the business community wants to see is that this debate roll on for another 18 months or so with continued uncertainty around carbon policy," he said.

"We've had to tolerate this for a very long time and it's cruelled investment in Australia. So, the quicker we get some resolution to it, and hopefully some bipartisanship, the better."

Topics: federal-government, emissions-trading, greens, political-parties, government-and-politics, business-economics-and-finance, tax, australia

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