ONE year after the launch of the Carbon Tax, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is dumping Labor’s fixed-price carbon tax from July 2014, bringing the transition to a floating emissions trading scheme (ETS) forward by 12 months.

In a statement released yesterday, Prime Minister Rudd indicated a floating price would reduce the cost on carbon from $25.40 per tonne to $6 per tonne in 2014, while the transition itself is expected to cost the federal budget $3.8bn over the next four years.

Budget restructures to fund the ETS include a $186m cut from the Coal Sector Jobs package and $248m cut from public sector management structures, indicating potential job losses.

Prime Minister Rudd said the ETS will save families an average of $4.10 per week on gas and electricity costs.

In a joint statement of response released yesterday, the Coalition said Mr Rudd’s ETS policy was a mere readjustment of the carbon tax, costing $58bn instead of $64bn.

Commenting on Labor’s prospective figures for the ETS, which showed a rise on carbon prices to $38 per tonne by 2019, the Coalition also warned any tax on carbon could harm business and drive jobs offshore.

The Coalition, if elected, plans to repeal the carbon tax and instate a ‘direct action’ policy to manage climate change.