Employment Minister Bill Shorten has indicated that should he lead Labor after the federal election, he
would not be willing to roll over to Tony Abbott and allow a Coalition government to abolish the price on
carbon.
In an email to a concerned lobby group, Mr Shorten said two recent articles which suggested he would
lead Labor after the election and readily assent to the abolition of the troublesome policy were
"misleading". "For the record, I told the journalist who asked me about carbon pricing that I'd always
supported the government's carbon pricing policy and that hasn't changed," he said.
"A carbon price is the best way to do something about climate change, so we can pass on the planet to
our kids and grand-kids in the best shape possible."
He says the election poses a "real choice" between competing climate change policies. He tells the
group, Lighter Footprints: "Feel free to tell your friends I absolutely support Labor's smart and fair carbon pricing policy."
Mr Shorten was responding to an email from the group's convener who wrote: "We read that the ALP is
considering (post a lost election) dumping its position on a price of carbon and possibly the ETS and we
lose whatever hope we (have) in this government.
"Don't do it, even if you are thinking like this."
Mr Abbott has promised repeatedly that if the Senate does not allow him to abolish the carbon price, he
will call a double dissolution election.