Australia Becomes First Nation to Eliminate Carbon Tax

In a landmark decision Australia has become the first nation in the world to repeal the carbon tax which puts a price on greenhouse-gas emissions. The news comes after the initial repeal was blocked by the senate earlier this year.

The Senate voted 39 to 32 to eliminate the 23.45 tax per metric ton of carbon dioxide that was introduced by Labor government Prime Minister Julia Gillard in July 2012.

After the announcement, Prime Minister Tony Abbott stated that he had achieved its objective of “axing the toxic tax.” Abbott also reiterated the government could still find support for its plan to pay polluters to reduce their emissions.

"We are a government which absolutely appreciates that we have only got one planet and we should pass it on to our children and grandchildren in at least as good shape as we found it," Abbott said.

"So we are a conservationist government and we will do what we think is the sensible thing to try to bring emissions down."

News of the repeal was welcomed by the NSW Minerals Council, the Queensland Resources Council, and the Australian Mines and Metals Association.

“Repeal of the carbon tax is good news for the Queensland economy,” QRC CEO Michael Roche said.

Tony Abbott, who made repealing the tax a central pledge of his campaign, characterized the revoked measure as a “useless destructive tax, which damaged jobs, which hurt families’ cost of living and which didn’t actually help the environment.”

The carbon tax has affected various industries ranging from mining and energy to aviation, and even the country’s main chamber of commerce.