THE chances of the Senate deciding the fate of the Government's emissions trading scheme next week have receded with the independents siding with the Coalition to either delay a vote until August, or to avoid taking any decision at all.
Simultaneously, the Government and the solar industry warned of lost jobs and investment after senators Nick Xenophon, Steve Fielding and the Coalition voted to send the legislation for a renewal energy target off to a committee that will not report until August 12.
The bill, which will mandate 20 per cent renewable energy use by 2020, was supported by the Coalition. But it baulked yesterday after Labor tied the bill to the legislation for its controversial emissions trading scheme in a ploy to have the Senate pass both measures.
The Climate Change Minister, Penny Wong, denied yesterday that the Government had tried to be too clever, a charge levelled by the Greens and Coalition.
The introduction of the renewable energy legislation was to be accompanied by a new rebate for installing solar panels to replace the old rebate the Government scrapped at short notice last week.
Senator Wong said the delay meant people could still go ahead and install solar panels. If they kept the receipt, they would receive the rebate but only if and when the legislation passed.
The chief executive of Modern Solar, Laurie Mallia, said business and customer certainty was being eroded. "Families who want to do the right thing by the environment will wait until the proper incentives are in place before deciding to purchase a new solar system," he said.
The delay increased the slanging match between the Government and the Opposition over climate policy. Writing in today's Sydney Morning Herald, Senator Wong said Malcolm Turnbull had been constrained by internal right-wing opposition to an emissions trading scheme.
"There was a time when he was one of the Parliament's strongest advocates on climate change. With Mr Costello out of the way, maybe he will feel safe in resuming that role," she says. Senator Wong also takes aim at the Greens who, if given the chance, will vote down Labor's scheme next week because they believe it is too weak. She said it would be "astonishing" for such a party to do such a thing.
But the ETS legislation is in trouble. The Coalition plans to filibuster all week to avoid it being put to a vote at all. If the bill is defeated, or there is a vote to defer it until August, either will count as a refusal by the Senate to pass it. Should the Senate do again three months later, the Government will have an early election trigger.
After the Herald revealed the filibuster strategy yesterday, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, told Parliament: "Not having the courage to vote for climate change is one thing, not having the courage to allow any vote on climate change, that's something else. "On this critical matter of climate change for Australia, filibustering is not leadership it is just absolute opportunism."
If the filibuster fails, the Coalition will side with Senator Xenophon to vote to delay the ETS bill until August.
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