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| Australia votes to repeal carbon tax | Australia votes to repeal carbon tax |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Australia's Senate has voted to repeal the carbon tax, a levy on the 300 biggest polluters passed by the Labor Party when they were in power in 2011. | Australia's Senate has voted to repeal the carbon tax, a levy on the 300 biggest polluters passed by the Labor Party when they were in power in 2011. |
| Prime Minister Tony Abbott, whose Liberal-National coalition beat Labor in an election last year, had made the repeal a central aim of his government. | |
| Politicians have been locked in a fierce row about the tax for years. | Politicians have been locked in a fierce row about the tax for years. |
| Labor says it helps to combat climate change, but the Liberals claim it penalises legitimate businesses. | Labor says it helps to combat climate change, but the Liberals claim it penalises legitimate businesses. |
| The Australian Senate voted 39 to 32 to repeal the tax, which charges the highest polluters A$23 (£13;$22.60) for every tonne of greenhouse gases they produce. | |
| Protests | |
| Australia is the developed world's worst polluter per head of population. | |
| But critics, including Mr Abbott, said that the tax cost jobs and forced energy prices up. | |
| There were widespread protests against the introduction of the tax in Australia. | |
| The repeal of the tax formed a major part of Mr Abbot's election manifesto. | |
| The leader of Australia's Green party, Christine Milne, said the vote against the tax was an "appalling day for Australia". |