NOTE: 12 August 2009: the CPRS will be debated in the Senate 14 August 2009. It may be rejected (not enough votes supporting it), in which case it will be presented for debate at a later date. The Government may choose to change its design to garner more support for it - or they may keep it unchanged. If it is rejected again the Government will have the option to call an early election in 2010, after which (if it wins), the legislation can be pushed through without the pre-required support.
The Australian Government is establishing a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme as part of an effective framework for meeting the climate change challenge.
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme will bring about the biggest economic reform since the opening up of Australia's economy under the Hawke and Keating Governments in the 1980s and 1990s. Like those reforms, it will start gradually, building momentum and, over the longer-term, transforming our economic structure. In delivering this significant economic reform, the Australian Government is focused on getting the balance right.
The Government will deliver a Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme that protects jobs today, while at the same time moving Australia to the low pollution economy of the future. As a market-based solution, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme is the lowest cost way to make this change while protecting the interests of business and households.
The Scheme will, for the first time, put a cost on carbon pollution which will encourage major polluting businesses to move towards a cleaner future. Firms will, for the first time, take the cost of carbon pollution into account in their investment and production decisions. This will ensure for the first time we recognise the costs of climate change in these decisions.
This will affect the pattern of competitiveness across the economy, the relative prices of goods and services, and the consumption choices made by households. | 
