Prime Minister Julia Gillard has moved to reassure Australians that her planned carbon tax would not hurt their finances, saying 90 percent of families would be compensated for higher costs.
Labor leader Gillard has been plunging in the polls since she announced plans for a carbon tax earlier this year, seemingly contradicting an election campaign statement there would be no such tax under her government.
She said Sunday she was determined to tackle climate change by placing a price on carbon pollution, which would be paid by the country's major industrial polluters, and using this money to assist families.
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"So I can confirm today that nine out of 10 households will get assistance -- that's seven million Australians getting assistance," Gillard told Channel 10's "Meet The Press" programme.
"We want to help people through tax cuts, through changes to family payments, and of course through pension rises as well.
"And the vast majority of people we assist actually won't pay any price, because of the assistance that they receive."
The conservative opposition has attacked the proposal for a carbon tax, which is yet to be finalised, saying it will damage industry and cost jobs, at the same time as raising the daily living expenses of Australians.
Opposition leader Tony Abbott, who has accused Gillard of pushing for a tax for which she has no mandate, has vowed to repeal the carbon levy if elected.
Gillard again defended her decision to push for a fixed price on carbon, after initially ruling it out during the campaign, saying she still intended for it to develop into a cap and trade scheme within three to five years.
"I understand (that) people looking at that statement before the last election would say to themselves: 'She said no carbon tax then -- there's going to be a carbon tax now,'" Gillard said.
"But it's a stepping stone to getting to where I always wanted this nation to get to and what I talked about before the election campaign, which is an emissions trading scheme to tackle climate change."
