PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has announced her plan for a carbon tax, with about 500 of the country's biggest polluters to pay $23 a tonne from July 1, 2012.

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1.00am Federal Labor's approval rating has dropped to a record low, the latest Newspoll shows.

Conducted from Friday to Sunday for The Australian the poll shows that in the two weeks leading up to the announcement of the carbon tax on Sunday, Labor's primary vote fell from 30 per cent at the end of June to a record low of 27 per cent over July 8 to 10.

Although most of those polled would not have seen the details of the pricing scheme Labor had leaked some of the details of the scheme prior to Sunday's announcement.

12.00am The group behind the controversial advertising campaign featuring Cate Blanchett say an upcoming advertising campaign will not feature celebrities.

"This latest advertising campaign, and extensive local work with public meetings, forums and door knocking, is all about the average Australian engaging," Don Henry from Say Yes said.

4.18pm Queensland's peak tourism body fears the Federal Government's carbon tax will compound the suffering of an already struggling industry, still trying to get off its knees six months after a wave of natural disasters.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind says while it's impossible to measure a bottom-line damage figure, there is no doubt the cost of doing business will increase through the direct and indirect impact on energy costs.

"The international competitiveness of Australian tourism and hospitality services will be negatively affected," Mr Gschwind said today.

"It will be a further blow to businesses already feeling the strong Australian dollar which is seeing domestic travellers choosing cheaper overseas holidays instead of holidaying locally."

4.09pm The Australian Greens admit there wasn't enough time for Treasury to undertake all of its economic modelling using the $23 a tonne starting point for a carbon price.

According to a Treasury document released on Sunday, the department modelled the household impact of a carbon price using a $23 a tonne price, but used a $20 figure for the "core policy scenario".

"It's incredibly complicated," Greens deputy leader Christine Milne told reporters in Canberra today.

Senator Milne said Treasury did not use $23 in all its modelling because it didn't get that information in time from the Government's multi-party climate change committee.

"The nitty-gritty of this agreement was really worked out in the last couple of months and Treasury have not modelled it, that's the fact of the matter," she said.

2.55pm Tony Abbott has just addressed a press conference at a coal mine in Singleton, NSW.

"Isn't there something odd about a tax that treats coal so differently?" said Mr Abbott, referring to Australian coal compared to coal from China.



"What I'm not going to do is make it easier for the government to get its carbon tax through. We won't be supporting legislation connected with it."

Again vowing not to support the steel industry adjustment package, Mr Abbott said the best form of compensation to the coal and steel industry "is to not have a carbon tax."

Mr Abbott said it is a "toxic tax" that can't be fixed, only fought.

2.22pm News.com.au's Simon Black reports the coalition demanding the names of 500 companies who will pay for their carbon emissions under the scheme.

Commercial privacy laws prevent the Government from naming them which means the names and number of companies that are forced into paying could remain a mystery.

Opposition spokesperson for climate change, Greg Hunt, said the public had a right to know what companies the carbon pricing scheme would be based on.

He branded it another example of how the Government was trying to hide the effects of the tax.

"This is public data," Mr Hunt said.

"We are calling on the Government - by 5pm today - to release the exact line of legislation and the regulation showing why they (can't) release data ... for the top 500.

"If they can't, they should release the list today."

Read the full report here.

2.01pm The steel industry might have an unlikely ally in Bob Brown, as the Greens leader signals he may support a $300 million industry adjustment package that Tony Abbott has vowed to reject, writes the Australian.

The $300 million steel package is a government measure sitting outside its broader carbon tax deal with the Greens. But Senator Brown said the Greens would consider supporting it if the opposition wanted to sink the plan. "Well, (this is a) difficult situation for the Greens because the steel industry has not been one of our biggest supporters," he said.

Read the full article here.

1.45pm Wayne Swan is the "Alan Bond of treasurers", says Joe Hockey.



Mr Hockey told a crowd of 300 at a hall near Mr Swan's electorate office that in the past week, the numbers in the government's carbon price package had shrunk considerably.



"Wayne Swan lost 500 companies between midnight and dawn on Thursday," he said.



"Wayne Swan now says the carbon tax is budget neutral.



"$4 billion has gone missing.



"It hasn't taken him long for him to become the Alan Bond of treasurers."

1.02pm Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey has said treasurer Wayne Swan must be kidding himself if he believes a $4.3 billion hit to the budget is "broadly neutral."



"This blowout further increases government borrowing, putting upward pressure on interest rates for Australian home buyers and small business," he said.

12.55pm Greg Jericho, otherwise known as the Grog's Gamut blogger, has an extensive and informative analysis over here. Mr Jericho picks apart the costs and explains what the carbon pricing scheme might mean for you.

"To say that it is pretty complex is to take a big drink out of the understatement bottle," he writes.

12.39pm The carbon pricing scheme provides certainty and fair compensation for low income earners, says the director of the Council of Social Services of NSW.

"People will always say they want a little bit more or they want it a little bit differently," Alison Peters said.

"But we are pleased to see that those on the lowest incomes are being compensated."

Low income earners tended to be the first and worst affected by climate change, she said.

11.59am Jobs in Australia's home building sector will be lost under the carbon pricing scheme, while the cost of building a home will rise, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) says.

HIA chief executive Graham Wolfe said materials will increase in price or be sourced from overseas.

The cost of the carbon price would be passed down the line into inputs for each production and fabrication phase, increasing the cost to build a new home, he said.

"Families buying a new home will now face additional building costs and higher mortgage repayments."

11.39am Prime Minister Gillard has responded to the news that some airline tickets will go up in price (see previous post below), saying some increases were inevitable in tourism, but she insisted the compensation package would more than make up for it.

"Our great tourist assets are highly sensitive to climate change, the Great Barrier Reef to take one example. "That's a wonderful natural asset for our country but it also supports around 60,000 jobs in the tourism industry. "There will be an effect on aviation fuel and that will flow through to prices for domestic aviation, but that's been factored into the cost of living change of 0.7 per cent."

The two pictures below show the effect global warming has on the reef. The second picture is of bleached coral.

11.17am Domestic airfares are set to increase an average of $3.50 per flight once the carbon price kicks in.

QANTAS has released a statement saying the carbon price will "have an estimated cost impact of approximately $110-115 million on the Qantas Group in the financial year ending 30 June 2013," and they won't have access to financial assistance or compensation.



As a result the extra costs will be passed on to customers flying domestic routes. International fares will be unaffected as only domestic aviation fuel is included in the carbon price scheme.

10.48am Rio Tinto managing director for Australia David Peever says the carbon pricing scheme is an unfair tax on Australian exporters.

"We are deeply concerned the proposed carbon tax fails to shield Australia's export sector and leaves it at a disadvantage compared to international competitors," he said.

10.44am Federal independent MP Rob Oakeshott says the next few months will be critical to getting public and parliament support for carbon pricing.

"We are no further advanced than the (former Rudd government) got to (with the shelved carbon pollution reduction scheme) and failed three times, so the next three months are the most important and critical part of this," Mr Oakeshott told ABC television.

"I am confident there is majority support in the lower house and upper house."

10.23am Tony Abbott says there would be tax cuts without a carbon tax under the coalition, but not necessarily the same tax cuts.

Speaking this morning on radio 3AW, Mr Abbott wouldn't be drawn on whether they would withdraw the pension increase.

"The best thing we can do for pensioners is to not have a carbon tax. Pensioners will get a fair go from the coalition without a carbon tax. That will be announced in good time before the next election."



"This is not my package now," he said.

" I'll let the government explain the details. I'm here to attack it. Not to explain it."

When questioned on criticising the package without having detail, Mr Abbott laughed and quoted former Prime Minister Paul Keating.

"If you don't understand something, don't vote for it."



You can listen to the whole interview here.

10.07am Tony Abbott says a climate forum the opposition will hold in Wayne Swan's seat of Nundah is the start of a concerted campaign against the package.

"I think if you're a Labor member of parliament in coal seats, steel seats, motor manufacturing seats, you ought to be very afraid of what this tax is going to do to your electoral prospects," he told ABC Radio today.

9.59am Treasurer Wayne Swan says the carbon pricing package is "first-class economic and social policy...it's Labor to the bootstraps."

Mr Swan also described the costs as "relatively modest" and cited two of Australia's environmental landmarks as benificiaries of the plan.

"If we don't do it we are going to destroy our environment, the Murray Darling will be cactus, the Barrier Reef will be gone," he told Sydney radio station TripleM.

9.36am A quick look at reactions on Twitter this morning shows -among other viewpoints - a number of people who will be paying more under the scheme - but don't mind.

@heligoroundHey, guess what? Our household will pay more under a . And I still support it. .

@nicolleg does it matter if we r a couple of hundred worse off a year if we are helping I'm not greeny but care about future

@cobismithIndeed. RT : I'll be worse off with the & am happy about it. I'd be MUCH worse off with no action

@1deadlynation Agreed! Most people on our planet wish their biggest problem was a slightly higher power bill!

9.15am The next election is all about the carbon pricing scheme, if Joe Hockey's statement today is anything to go by.

The opposition treasury spokesman told ABC TV if the coalition wins the next federal election it will be a mandate to abolish the carbon tax, and Labor will just have to accept it.

"The Labor Party has to respect that mandate in the same way that we accepted that the government had a mandate to repeal Work Choices," he said.

9.03am A word cloud of the Prime Minister's address last night shows how often particular words were used, arranged by size.

8.49am In good news for the government, the front page of the Illawarra Mercury quotes BlueScope Steel chief executive Paul O'Malley saying he is "satisfied" with the carbon pricing plan.

Mr O'Malley described the packages as a "pragmatic solution to a complex problem."

It's not hard for the company to be happy with the plan. BlueScope Steel has emerged as "perhaps the nation's biggest single benificiary" with their carbon bill effectively paid for, according to the Mercury.

In an op-ed today, the Illawarra Mercury also announced their support for the carbon pricing scheme, despite the Illawarra being home to thousands of people employed in the steel and coal industries, or with jobs connected to them.

"That BlueScope boss Paul O'Malley endorsed the package in principle, and made a personal commitment to the steelmaker remaining in Australia, convinces us it is time to put the argy-bargy aside and look to the future."

However the paper says they are waiting "to see the devil in the detail," and disagree with Gillard's statement the carbon pricing plan is simple.

8.34am

8.25am Julia Gillard continues her sell this morning, telling 7 news the carbon pricing scheme is the cheapest way to combat climate change.

"We've opted for the cheapest way of cutting carbon pollution. The economists tell us putting a price on carbon is the cheapest way to cut carbon pollution, that's why we've designed the scheme the way we have."

Ms Gillard said her plan was "quite simple" and was aimed at big polluters, not families.

"At its core it really is quite simple, we at the moment put carbon pollution into our atmosphere for nothing, a big polluter can just keep chugging it up into the skies and not pay anything," she said.

"The core of this is those big polluters will pay a price, they're smart business people, when a bill comes in for carbon pollution they'll say, 'How can I reduce that bill, how can I change my processes so I generate less carbon pollution?'."

She also gave reassured people the ACCC will crack down on any businesses that tried to use the plan as an excuse to put up prices.

"We will have the same cop on the beat as was on the beat when the GST came into effect ... that's the ACCC," she said.

"They will be out there monitoring to look and see if anybody is trying to use this as an excuse to profiteer."

8.22am The CFMEU has called on the mining industry to stop their scare campaign.

Speaking on ABC24 this morning, the union's national president Tony Maher said: "The mining industry's going through an unprecedented boom and it will continue to boom for three decades at least.



"This tax is not likely to produce any closures and the companies know it. They are mounting a baseless scare campaign that the public just doesn't believe."



The CFMEU says the $1.3bn for the 23 gassy mines will provide job protection to the industry.

7.57am Laurie Oakes has told Channel 9's Today show the carbon pricing plan is "not bad policy at all", and is "certainly more serious than anything Tony Abbott's offered".

However Julia Gillard still faces a battle. "The biggest flaw in the package is the Prime Minister," he said a few minutes ago. "People just don't trust Julia Gillard."

7.42am Over on The Punch today, Malcolm Farr, News.com.au's National Political Editor, writes the Prime Minister has not won the political battle yet.

Julia Gillard is asking many in middle Australia, maybe half of the electorate, if they are prepared to forego around $1 a day to prevent climate change getting a lot worse. She is arguing that the $1 is a fair and realistic investment with a worthy and guaranteed dividend. That’s the essential message from the huge bundle of spending and levying and tax cutting announced yesterday...

7.21amThe carbon pricing scheme has attracted attention from overseas media.

The UK's Guardian writes the "radical" plan "revives hopes of stronger global climate action," while, The New York Times makes mention of Kevin Rudd and compares our scheme to the EU's earlier effort.

A similar proposal by Ms. Gillard’s predecessor, Kevin Rudd, was largely blamed for having led to his political downfall. Ms. Gillard argued, however, that Australia - one of the world’s largest polluters, per capita - could no longer ignore its global responsibilities. [...] When the European Union initiated its carbon-trading program in 2005, many polluters passed on the cost of the free permits they were given to consumers, creating large corporate profits. That is unlikely to happen in Australia, said Mr. Jordan of Deutsche Bank.



“Australian policy makers learned the lesson from Europe that there’s a risk if you hand out too many free permits and you hand them out to the wrong sectors, that you get emitters both passing on the cost of carbon but also pocketing the value of those permits,” he said.

3.10amBusiness groups remain lukewarm about the federal government's carbon price package which includes more than $9 billion dollars of assistance to support jobs and industries.



Prime Minister Julia Gillard said part of the revenue generated by pricing carbon will be used to support jobs and investment in clean energy and climate change programs.



But Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout says large parts of industry remain deeply concerned their competitiveness will be damaged.



And Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Mitch Hooke says the design of the package is wrong and a very poor investment on the nation's environmental and economic future.

12.30am Myer boss Bernie Brookes says the department store group will be forced to raise prices under the carbon plan, and the tax would have the same effect on consumer confidence as an interest rate rise.

In the medium to long term any extra cost will have to be passed to consumer ... we have to raise prices.

It's a similar story for airlines, with warnings fares will rise as a result of the tax. Qantas says the direct impact of the tax will be confirmed over the next 48 hours. Group executive Olivia Wirth says:

At $23 per tonne there will be some effect on passengers through higher domestic fares and we will assess this in detail ...

12.10am In his column this morning, Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt describes the carbon tax as "the most brazen fraud to be perpetrated by an Australian government".

Warming believers should be outraged that the tax is so useless. Sceptics should be outraged it's so pointless. It offends the intelligence of everyone and threatens the jobs of thousands. For nothing.

Read more at the Herald Sun.

12.05am The morning papers have begun delivering their verdicts on the carbon tax in the wake of "Carbon Sunday". The Australian's editorial reads in part:

The trust Labor put in Ms Gillard when she was chosen as leader a little over a year ago has been vindicated to some extent by the dogged determination she has shown in delivering this package against the odds. But the fact remains that seeking parliamentary endorsement for the proposal before securing a popular mandate is an error of judgment voters will find hard to forgive. The Prime Minister's struggle for political redemption has just begun.

Read more at The Australian.

9.20pm Our in-depth carbon tax page gives a full range of case studies on the carbon tax bottom line with Q&As for various types of households and industry groups.

8.08pm Angry Australians have vowed to vote Julia Gillard from office at the next election after today's controversial carbon tax announcement. Almost 100,000 votes were cast by more than 25,000 people across four polls in News Limited's "Carbon Tax Plebiscite", with 87.1 per cent saying they planned to change their vote at the next election in light of the tax.

7.52pm Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says there will be no compensation for people who lose their jobs as a result of the carbon tax. Mr Abbott said the environment cannot be protected by making everyday life more expensive and by sending Australian jobs overseas.

Read Tony Abbott's address to the nation in full.



6.45pm Prime Minister Julia Gillard addresses the nation:

"By 2020 our carbon price will take 160 million tonnes of pollution out of the atmosphere every year. That’s the equivalent of taking forty five million cars off the road."

Read Julia Gillard's address to the nation in full.

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5.30pm: The government says the expected cost increases of the carbon price will be “quite modest”. Household electricity prices are estimated to rise by $3.30 per week. Gas is estimated to increase by $1.50 per week. The price of food is forecast to increase by less than $1 a week.



5:08pm: Here's a handy chart from the government's Clean Energy Future site, showing how we all contribute to carbon emissions:

4.51pm:Key figures on the carbon tax, showing how it will affect you and how it will affect the planet:

4.35pm: The below graph shows the current and projected income tax rates under the carbon price package. The Government will treble the level of the tax-free threshold to $18,200 in 2012-13 to coincide with the introduction of a carbon price. Lifting the threshold will mean that people will have to earn an income of $20,542 before they are eligible to pay tax, freeing an estimated 1 million people from the tax system altogether. Read more at The Australian.











4.10pm: The Government has set up a "household assistance estimator" to help people identify the impact a carbon tax will have on the price of goods and services and also the cash assistance they will receive. You can access the estimator HERE.



3.45pm: The federal government will spend at least $25.5 billion to protect Australian jobs from the carbon pricing scheme.



3.34pm: Treasurer Wayne Swan confirmed there would be a net cost of $4.3 billion to the Budget over four years, but said the bulk of this - $2.9 billion - was in the first year.

"Once the scheme is up and running, the impacts are broadly Budget neutral and only have a modest impact on Budget surpluses ... The longer we delay, the greater the cost and the more difficult the transition."

2.32pm: Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has responded to the federal government's carbon price package, saying that it would not cut emissions.

"What is the point of all of this ... if millions of Australians are going to be worse off, we are not actually going to cut our emissions. This is a Labor-Green carbon tax, and it's going to drive up prices, threaten jobs and do nothing at all for the environment."

1.56pm: The carbon compo plan has been branded "politically cunning".

1.44pm:Julia Gillard has given herself a good shot at swaying voters, b.ut Tony Abbott is likely to seize on some of the guess work in the plan to show Labor remains a risk to jobs and hip-pockets, writes Paul Osborne.

1.24pm:Julia Gillard has admitted some families will be worse off under a carbon tax. A dual-income couple on $120,000 a year (with a 70/30 pay split between them) with a teenage child will lose $375 a year, or $7.20 a week.

“There's no money tree, there's no endeavour here to try and pretend that everybody is better off or everybody is in the same position."

1.06pm:Treasurer Wayne Swan says the cost of pricing carbon is small, particularly if the country acts now.

"The longer we delay, the greater the cost and the more difficult the transition. Under a carbon price we can see strong growth in the economy, we can see strong jobs growth, we see strong growth in incomes, and we can do all of that while making deep cuts in carbon pollution."

12.57pm: Julia Gillard's carbon tax at a glance.

12.25pm: Average households will be a scant 20 cents a week better off from the maze of tax cuts, welfare increases and cost rises accompanying the carbon pricing scheme.