Independent Senator Nick Xenophon looks set to back the coalition's push for a plebiscite on the carbon tax saying it would be "the right thing to do".
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has said the coalition will introduce draft laws into parliament tomorrow which would require Labor's proposed carbon tax to be put to a public vote
Senator Xenophon says he's in discussions with the coalition about the wording of the plebiscite to make sure it's fair and isn't a loaded question.
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He says the government ruled out a carbon tax before the last election and it's now appropriate for the Australian people to decide whether they support a price on carbon.
'DETERMINED'
"I am determined to try to ensure that the Australian people get to vote on Julia Gillard's carbon tax," Abbott told reporters in Canberra.
"And my plebiscite proposal is to bring about the vote on the carbon tax that the prime minister denied to people before the election."
The final outcome would be non-binding on the government but Abbott said it was "just inconceivable, absolutely inconceivable" that the government would ignore a vote of the Australian people.
The government, which is flailing at record lows in opinion polls, wants to introduce a price on carbon by July 2012, with this gradually giving way to a carbon trading mechanism within three to five years.
For the bill to be passed it must receive the backing of the key independents whose support allowed Gillard to take power, but they showed little enthusiasm for the idea on Monday.
Independent Tony Windsor described the proposal as a "stunt", while fellow independent Rob Oakeshott said it was meaningless given the government had yet to finalise plans for the carbon tax.
A third independent, Andrew Wilkie, was non-committal while Greens leader Bob Brown said a plebiscite would be a waste of money.
Gillard dismissed the push for a vote as a stunt.
"This is a complete stunt from Tony Abbott. Another day, another stunt, we're used to it," she said. "We've got to get on with the job of tackling climate change."
Unlike a referendum, which relates to a constitutional issue in Australia, a plebiscite is not binding on the government. In the past they have been held on the question of military service and daylight saving.
