Her call might also win support from the Greens, who said the stalled emissions trading scheme was flawed and not ambitious enough, while the opposition had labelled it a great big new tax, leading to policy paralysis.
Industry and green groups welcomed Gillard’s comments.
“It seems she wants to have a very open negotiation with the view to resolution so that’s definitely in investors’ interest,” said Nathan Fabian, CEO of the Investor Group on Climate Change that represents institutional investors with about $500bn under management.
The carbon market will also welcome her renewed push in the hope that Australia become a major new player in a market worth $144bn last year, dominated by Europe’s emissions trading scheme.
“We believe the Labor party’s backflip on the emissions trading scheme and its associated decline in the polls is a key reason we now have a new leader,” said WWF-Australia CEO, Greg Bourne.
A WWF poll this week in four of the country’s critical marginal seats showed 70% of respondents were in support of an emissions trading scheme, WWF said.
Former prime minister Rudd had made fighting climate change and a carbon trading scheme in particular, central to his administration.
But he was widely seen as unable to properly explain and sell the complex carbon scheme to voters, who feared higher fuel and power prices, while miners feared shrinking profits and overseas rivals gaining a competitive edge.
His support plunged in part because he decided to shelve the scheme in April after failing three times to get Senate support, disillusioning voters who wanted action on climate change.