(Transcript from World News Radio)
Federal parliament has resumed for the year with the latest opinion poll showing the Labor's popularity is on the decline.
While the poll results will no doubt please the government, 2014 is shaping up as a big year for Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Mr Abbott has staked his reputation on abolishing the carbon and mining taxes, returning the budget into surplus, stopping the boats and once and for all improving the lives of indigenous Australians.
But the real focus for the first half of the year will be on the Senate where Labor and the Greens hold the balance of power and have pledged to thwart Mr Abbott's plans at every turn.
Amanda Cavill reports.
(Click on audio tab above to listen to this item)
The federal government's package of carbon tax laws was listed as the first order of business in the Senate, but there will be no joy there for the Coalition.
Neither Labor nor the Greens are backing down from their opposition to the bills and debate is likely to go on for months.
Mr Abbott says it's time for the two parties to get out of the way on the issue.
"As Parliament comes back, I want to stress our plan to build a strong, prosperous economy. That plan is about creating more jobs with lower taxes, less red tape and policies that encourage everyone to "have a go". By July, Labor's Carbon Tax and the Mining Tax should be history -- especially if Labor wakes up to itself. So that's the plan that the Parliament should support and it's a plan that will strengthen the economy and allow families and small businesses to plan their future with confidence."
However, Labor leader Bill Shorten has continually refused to accept the Coalition's claim that it has a mandate to scrap the carbon tax
Mr Shorten says the government does not, and will not, have Labor's support. .
"Labor will never be a rubber stamp for Tony Abbott. We accept the science of climate change, Tony Abbott doesn't. We decide our policies based on our long-held principle that climate change is real. We also want to build a modern economy for the future and not put off to future generations the challenges we should be dealing with now. We won't be bullied and I won't be bullied by Tony Abbott merely because he doesn't accept the science of climate change."
The government will also face opposition in the Senate when it tries to take an axe to thousands of regulations it says impose a multi-billion-dollar burden on business and community organisations.
The government wants to repeal more than 8000 redundant laws, some of which date back to the early 20th Century.
Mr Abbott is pinning his hopes on the new Senate which comes into being on July 1 to break the deadlock in the Senate and support his changes to everything from the carbon tax to the introduction of his paid parental leave scheme.
But the make-up of the new Senate may change if the High Court rules for a new Senate election in West Australia after almost 1400 ballot papers mysteriously vanished during the drawn-out recount of votes from the election in September.
Party leader Clive Palmer, who's formed an alliance with three independent Senators including the Motorists Party, has stopped short of promising to support the Coalition's agenda in the Senate
"We've got common policies. We're like-minded people working together. You know 95-percent of things in Australia people agree on and our politicians argue all day long on the 5-percent of things they don't agree on so it's not a really unexpected thing to think that we agree with the motorists on many issues."
And the Greens also plan to fight to overturn the Abbott government's reintroduction of a controversial Temporary Protection Visa that prevents asylum seekers from gaining permanent residency.
Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt says they will launch a disallowance motion in the Senate claiming it's the same as a scheme that was voted down by Labor and the Senate last year.
"The Abbott government's committed to cruelty. It will stop at nothing to persecute some of the world's most vulnerable people for what it perceives as electoral advantage so it wouldn't surprise me at all if the Tony Abbott government continues to find new and ingenious ways to wreck people's lives. The Greens care for people and we will continue to come back and fight every move of the Tony Abbott government when it comes to treating people unfairly."
The government will use the the next few months to try to legislate some of its other key election promises including Fair Work Act changes, support for apprentices and incentives for job-seekers to relocate in order to get a job.
A new allowance for financially-strapped farmers and a hike in cigarette taxes are also on the agenda.
The House of Representatives will also debate bills relating to overseas students and consumer protections for telecommunications customers.
Share
