Labor has renewed its defence of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation in a bid to shift the focus away from the Abbott government's goal of scrapping the carbon tax for good.
The government's package of 11 repeal bills is before the Senate, where Prime Minister Tony Abbott is determined they will be put to a vote before Christmas.
The government wanted all 11 bills considered together, but the federal opposition demanded more time to scrutinise the package more carefully.
In particular they've launched an impassioned defence of the CEFC and the Climate Change Authority (CCA), two agencies that face the axe along with the carbon tax.
Labor senator Louise Pratt said the government had no mandate for abolishing the CEFC and didn't need to in order to get rid of the carbon impost.
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"We can repeal a carbon tax without abandoning the important principles of the holistic framework to manage carbon emissions in this country," she told the chamber.
She said a Senate estimates committee last week was told the CEFC had successfully driven investment in clean energy, and it would be a "great loss" if the $10 billion corporation was scrapped.
It was even delivering a return on taxpayer investment, she added, above and beyond the costed funding dedicated to the independent body.
Labor successfully moved an amendment on Monday so the bills to scrap the CEFC and CCA would be debated separately.
