Australian Carbon Pricing Mechanism To Be Repealed

On September 7, 2013, Australia held its federal election, and a new government was elected. One of the policies of the new government is to repeal the carbon pricing mechanism ("CPM")—the carbon tax scheme. The government has released exposure drafts of eight repeal bills ("Bills") and an accompanying Repeal of the Carbon Tax Consultation Paper.

The Bills are open for public consultation, and submissions must be made by November 4, 2013. The Bills were tabled in Parliament on November 13, 2013. For the Bills to be passed, they must be approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Senate is not controlled by the new government, so the support of independents will be required to pass the Bills. Following the election, a new set of independents will hold the balance of power in the Senate beginning July 1, 2014. The government will be counting on support from this new set of independents if the existing independents in the Senate do not pass the Bills