Welp, it’s curtains for the Carbon Tax in Australia. The Lower House successfully passed the Carbon Tax repeal legislation late yesterday during Parliamentary sitting, and with Clive Palmer‘s weird announcements earlier this week, this means the tax repeal will pass the senate, and thus be given the ole’ One Two Kostya Tszyu from Australia’s legislation books.
The Abbott Coalition Government were jubilant in parliament as the repeal passed the house for the second time – it previously passed the house but was blocked by a stubborn senate. This time, however, the repeal will pass through when the new senate votes on it in the coming months, with the Coalition securing the support of the senatorial cross-bench, which includes the key Palmer United Party voting bloc.
The repeal is not without compromise, however. The abolition of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation had to be split from the repeal bill, following Clive Palmer’s announcement that his support of the carbon tax repeal was conditional on the basis that the Corporation remained, along with his commitment to the Climate Change Authority and the Renewable Energy Target, despite the Liberal Party’s desire to scrap the lot.
The new Senate forms on July the 1st, and is expected to vote on, and pass, the repeal in mid July.
Photo: Stefan Postles via Getty Images.
