From the murdoch news.com.au...

The Opposition will keep fighting the carbon pricing scheme because there isn’t a lot else of similar weight which would recommend a vote for Tony Abbott’s troops at the next election.

And it’s easier than coming up with functional policies Mr Abbott could call his own.

The Nationals’ Barnaby Joyce joined the chorus of outrage after the passage of the Clean Energy Future bills: “It is not a defeat; it’s an adjournment.”

All of which will delight Prime Minister Julia Gillard who will be talking about other things, such as the benefits which could be funded by a tax on mining super profits, and putting attention on the Opposition’s struggle to draw up a coherent economic policy.

Labor believes that the more Tony Abbott harps on what the electorate will see as a tapering debate, the more clear air he would leave for the Government’s priorities.

And there is a hope that the intensity of the public squabble will ease when low and middle-income earners start getting compensation payments - two months before the scheme starts next year.

http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/abbott-will-keep-flogging-the-carbon-horse-of-course/

Australia's parliament has passed landmark laws to impose a price on carbon emissions in one of the biggest economic reforms in a decade, giving new impetus to December's global climate talks in South Africa.

The scheme's impact will be felt right across the economy, from miners to LNG producers, airlines and steel makers and is aimed at making firms more energy efficient and push power generation towards gas and renewables.

Australia accounts for just 1.5 per cent of global emissions, but is the developed world's highest emitter per capita due to a reliance on coal to generate electricity.

Tuesday's vote is a major victory for embattled Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who staked her government's future on what will be the most comprehensive carbon price scheme outside of Europe despite deep hostility from voters and the political opposition.

The scheme is a central plank in the government's fight against climate change and aims to halt the growth of the country's growing greenhouse gas emissions from a resources-led boom and age-old reliance on coal for power generation.

It sets a fixed carbon tax of A$23 ($23.78) a tonne on the top 500 polluters from July 2012, then moves to an emissions trading scheme from July 2015. Companies involved will need a permit for every tonne of carbon they emit.

"Today marks the beginning of Australia's clean energy future. This is an historic moment, this is an historic reform, a reform that is long overdue," Finance Minister Penny Wong told the upper house Senate as she wrapped up the marathon debate.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2011/11/20111182305852473.html

THE Samuelsons are the face of the carbon tax three million - the families who will bear the cost of the Gillard government's latest levy.

Teddy Samuelson and her husband Nik from Castle Hill will be out of pocket about $700 a year even after receiving increased family payments of about $75, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The stay-at-home mum said her husband worked "bloody hard for his money" with the family battling existing expenses and the cost of raising three boys in Sydney on Mr Samuelson's wage of more than $150,000 a year.

"When I look at bills I think what we pay now is more than enough - to think that number is going to rise is just wrong," Mrs Samuelson said yesterday.

"I don't think anyone is really sure how much the tax is going to impact their lives."

She said the concept of taxing families who are earning more but not compensating them was unfair: "I don't see why we have to suffer because he earns slightly more."