The Daily Telegraph reports:
TONY Abbott says the coalition’s anti-carbon tax campaign has been vindicated as the Rudd government fast-tracks a move to an emissions trading scheme.
The government looks set to scrap the tax and shift to an ETS a year early, in July 2014.
This will result in the fixed $24.15 per tonne tax being dumped in favour of a floating price that could be as low as $5.90.
Mr Abbott says the decision “vindicates” the coalition’s campaign against the carbon tax.
“If you vote for the coalition the carbon tax is gone, lock stock and barrel, not rebadged and not renamed,” the opposition leader told the Nine Network on Monday.
He played down the coalition’s support for the concept of emissions trading schemes in 2006 under the Howard government.
“The more we looked at it the worse it seemed,” he said.
“Whether it’s a fixed tax or a floating tax, it’s still a tax, it still hurts.”