I don't understand why you Aussies think this even matters. Do you know how much carbon you guys produce next to China or India? A laughably small amount. You could start building factories tomorrow in the outback that did nothing but spew raw CO2 into the atmosphere and it would take you hundreds of years to catch up to China alone.
If CO2 is to really be reduced the effort falls squarely on large semi-developed countries like China or India. Even the US has already cut back as much as they can, and that without a carbon tax also... we just weren't as stupid as you to pass it to start with.
You guys are just wising up to the reality that carbon taxes are as much a ruse to make people money as anything else. Where do you think "carbon taxes" go anyway...