A Labor backbencher says that his party should not block the newly elected government as it tries to cut the carbon tax.
AAP reports that Labor MP Nick Champion says that Labor should vote against the move in the House of Representatives but abstain from the Senate vote on the issue.
He claims that such a move would expose the government and let the public see what a bad policy the Coalition’s Direct Action Policy on climate change is.
“I think it would be a disaster for Mr Abbott, it would be a disaster for the Liberal Party and it would hasten their demise,” he told the ABC.
“And in effect, I believe that the Liberal Party want to hang themselves, well we should give them as much rope as they need.”
He added that scrapping the carbon tax and moving to the direct action plan would push electricity prices up, raise Australia's emissions and waste billions of dollars.
The statement has opened something of a rift in the ALP.
The ABC reports that, Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union president Tony Maher called Mr Champion an amateur for making the comment and said that it should be ignored by the Labor Party.
"I think it's just cheap kindergarten politics, trumping standing up for something,” Mr Maher said.
"It could equally apply to the IR laws, to the ABCC, to anything else, so once you go through that path, of waving through everything for the Coalition, then why would people vote for you, why would all those Labor stalwarts stick with Labor?"
In addition, the two major contenders for the Labor Party leadership, Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese are both committed to opposing the repeal of the carbon tax.