Carbon tax legislation passed

The Gillard government has secured passage of its controversial carbon tax through the lower house of federal parliament with the support of key crossbench MPs.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and former Labor leader Kevin Rudd embraced on the floor of parliament after the lower house passed the government's controversial carbon tax.

Mr Rudd was close to introducing an emissions trading scheme (ETS) in 2009 but hit a roadblock in the form of an uncooperative Senate and later, the new Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.

This time around the government knows the 19 carbon tax bills will sail through the upper house by November 21, with the support of the Australian Greens.

And that explains the celebrations, which saw Ms Gillard and Mr Rudd exchange pecks on the cheek.

"It's been a difficult debate but the debate is now concluded," Ms Gillard said before participating in the historic vote.

"Today is a significant day for Australians and the Australians of the future who want to see a better environment."

The $23-a-tonne carbon tax will start in mid-2012 before transforming into a true ETS in mid-2015.

But Mr Abbott insists Wednesday's vote does not create the certainty Labor and many in the business community want.

He has pledged a coalition government will repeal the carbon price no matter how long it takes - even if that means calling a double-dissolution election down the track.

"This is a pledge in blood - this tax will go," Mr Abbott told ABC Radio on Wednesday.

"We can get rid of it, we will get rid of it, we must get rid of it."

The prime minister believes that's a lie.

She says half of the parliamentary Liberal Party believe in putting a price on carbon and wiser heads will prevail.

"For Tony Abbott this is all about the politics and political theatre," Ms Gillard told ABC Radio.

"People should not take his assertions about repeal seriously. They don't deserve to be believed."

Meanwhile, Greens leader Bob Brown said his party could take "a great deal of credit" for the carbon price passing parliament because it made its support of the minority government contingent on Labor taking action to tackle climate change.

"The greening of Australia is well under way," Senator Brown said.

Labor won the vote on the 18 carbon tax bills 74 to 72 with the support of independents Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Andrew Wilkie, and Greens MP Adam Bandt.

Mr Bandt, who won his seat from Labor at the 2010 election, said the voters of his electorate in Melbourne had made the legislation possible.

"By voting Green, they kick-started action on climate change," he said in a statement.

The lower house also passed the government's $300 million steel transformation plan bill 75 to 71 with Queensland independent Bob Katter getting on board.

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CONSERVATION GROUPS WELCOME BILLS

Conservation and climate groups have welcomed the passage of the federal government's carbon tax bills through the lower house and urged their speedy progress through the Senate and into law.

The Climate Institute CEO John Connor said the legislation will create a potential "win-win" for a cleaner and more competitive economy and support international efforts to tackle climate change.

"This has been an ugly and very long debate and we congratulate those who backed this legislation in the House of Representatives and urge the Senate to pass the legislation as quickly as possible," he said in a statement.

The government's bills are expected to pass in the Senate with the support of Greens and are likely to become law by the end of November.

WWF-Australia agreed the historic vote would encourage other countries to take stronger action on climate change.

"Today our MPs have voted yes to creating a stronger economy, yes to new jobs in clean industries and yes to giving our wildlife a fighting chance," CEO Dermot O'Gorman said in a statement.

The Australian Conservation Foundation said the vote came after a decade of "people power" in Australia.

"Today's vote is historic for the millions of Australians who, in the face of well-funded scare campaigns, have tirelessly urged successive Australian governments to take action on climate change," CEO Don Henry said.

The Australian Youth Climate Coalition said while the legislation was not perfect it was a good step.

"Now young people will be looking to the next steps that will move us to 100 per cent renewable energy," national director Ellen Sandell said in a statement.