rudd gillard kiss while abbott boils dry

ABC Online...
Ah what spectacle....
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd savoured a moment of victory as the government's far-reaching emissions trading legislation passed the House of Representatives this morning, sparking jubilation and relief on the Government benches.

Labor and independent MPs broke into applause as the hotly-contested bills passed the Lower House by 74 votes to 72 after weeks of debate.

Amid the celebrations, there was a show of public solidarity as Mr Rudd planted a kiss on the cheek of Ms Gillard, the person who took his job and, by some reports, the person whose job he wants back.

The bills will now go to the Senate where they will pass with the support of the Greens and the legislation will come into force on July 1 next year.

Earlier Ms Gillard and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott traded barbs about each other's honesty in bitter exchanges during media appearances.

Mr Abbott "pledged in blood" to repeal the carbon tax laws if he forms government, despite the certainty of any such move being blocked in the Greens-controlled Senate.

The climate bills had majority support anyway, but the Government's position was boosted last night when Opposition frontbencher Sophie Mirabella was thrown out of the House for 24 hours for defying the speaker.

Hitting the airwaves ahead of the vote, Mr Abbott again raised Ms Gillard's promise before the last election not to introduce a carbon tax, accusing her of betraying the Australian people.

"We have a Prime Minister who is the great betrayer of the Australian people. She was absolutely crystal-clear before the last election - 'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead,'" Mr Abbott told AM.

But Ms Gillard hit back on the honesty question, bringing up a "cast iron" promise Mr Abbott made before the 2004 election not to raise the Medicare safety net threshold.

Mr Abbott's promise that "That is an absolutely rock solid, ironclad commitment" was broken in 2005.

Ms Gillard this morning questioned the reliability of Mr Abbott's word: "Guess what, immediately after being elected he changed the Medicare safety net."

On AM, reporter Sabra Lane asked Mr Abbott if he would put his pledge to repeal the legislation in writing.

"We can repeal the tax, we will repeal the tax, we must repeal the tax," Mr Abbott said.

"I am giving you the most definite commitment any politician can give that this tax will go. This is a pledge in blood. This tax will go.

"No parliament can bind its successor. It's a fundamental principle of Westminster democracy that no parliament can bind its successor."

But with the Greens holding the balance of power in the Senate, the legislation will not be repealed unless Mr Abbott, if he wins government, calls a double dissolution election and wins a majority of Senate seats.

That would give the government the potent strategy of campaigning on "a vote for the Coalition means a vote for two elections".

But Mr Abbott insisted the climate legislation will be repealed: "We will repeal this tax. We will dismantle the bureaucracy associated with it."

Meanwhile Ms Gillard has given the strongest indication yet that the Government will not take advantage of the absence of Ms Mirabella to bring forward the vote of the controversial Malaysian solution legislation.

The government is still lobbying WA independent Tony Crook in an effort to shore up the numbers to negate the High Court decision that banned offshore asylum seeker processing.

"I anticipate the Migration legislation will be dealt with tomorrow," Ms Gillard said this morning.
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I see Abbott has not put his carbon tax promise in writing and he has previously said unless it's in writing don't believe what I say.
Also unless the Opposition changes it's mind and votes with the government in the Senate then the off-shore processing legislation will be defeated by the Greens.
That will mean the end of off-shore processing and the Greens will have won as their policy of onshore processing will be the only option left.
Dave R.


Dave R.