THE Senate will return on Monday to continue debating the emissions trading scheme after failing to deal with the legislation by the agreed time of 3.45 pm today.
But Acting Prime Minister Julia Gillard is refusing to speculate on the possibility of a double dissolution or early election in the wake of the Senate failing to vote on the carbon pollution reduction scheme legislation by this afternoon's agreed deadline.
Ms Gillard, who is acting in the role while Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is in Trinidad, said the Government was "deeply disappointed" the Liberal Party had not honoured its agreement to deal with the legislation.
She said while the Rudd Government remained committed to taking action on climate change, there had been "endless delay" and the Government was "not going to take it anymore".
Ms Gillard paid tribute to Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull and said he had been right in his speech last night about the expectations for political leaders to take action on climate change.
She then launched a scathing attack on the anti-Turnbull camp for failing to deal with the legislation when Liberal leaders had supported the negotiated package.
"We expect the Liberal Party to honour its agreement and pass the scheme," Ms Gillard said.
She said the House of Representatives would sit on Monday ready to pass the scheme once it had cleared the Senate.
She said Australia could not afford any more inquiries, reports or investigations into climate change and urged the Liberal Party "to turn up on Monday" and pass the Bill.
She said the deal with the Liberals on agreed amendments remains on the table until then, but the Government was determined to see it passed on Monday.
So far there have been 28 hours spent debating the legislation in the Senate on top of the debate held when it was first introduced and rejected in August.
The committee stage has taken up 16 hours so far, with only 10 per cent of amendments progressed, Climate Change Minister Senator Penny Wong said.
The Senate will resume debating the legislation on Monday at 9am, coincidently the same time a meeting of the Parliamentary Liberal Party is scheduled to move a motion to declare the leadership position help by Mr Turnbull as vacant.
Earlier, tensions exploded in the Senate as the deadline passed to deal with the amended legislation.
The Government's leader in the Senate, Chris Evans, said the Senate had made "virtually no progress" on the amendments to the legislation, dealing with just 34 of the 295 changes.
The anti-ETS Liberal Senators dominated this afternoon's proceedings in the Senate with the pro-Turnbull Senators nowhere to be seen in the chamber.
Senator Evans said there had been "no genuine attempt to deal with one of the greatest challenges of our time".
"You have ratted on the agreement," Senator Evans said.
He said the Liberals had entered an agreement in good faith with the Government to have the vote on the legislation this week.
"There has been no good faith shown in progressing this legislation."
Liberal Senate Leader and climate rebel Nick Minchin has disputed Labor's claims of filibustering, arguing that the ETS legislation "represents significant intervention in the Australian economy and the package of 11 bills deserves nothing short of thorough scrutiny in the Senate".
"Labor’s claims that some 15 hours of questioning of the Minister on these 11 bills is excessive are very misleading and confirm Labor’s desire for this legislation to be rammed through the Senate even though there are considerable amendments that have been in the public domain for less than three days," Sen. Minchin said.
"All Senators, including the Australian Greens, Family First Senator Steve Fielding and Senator Nick Xenophon, have amendments before the chamber to be debated.
"Labor is falsely asserting that the Senate is exceeding normal levels of debate on the CPRS package.
"The Senate spent 58 hours debating the GST in 1998 and 56 hours on the Native Title Amendment Bill in 1997, when the Labor Party was in opposition.
"Labor’s desire to truncate debate in the Senate should shine further light on the Prime Minister’s vain aim to gloat at Copenhagen, rather than allow the Australian Parliament on behalf of the Australian people to thoroughly scrutinise this far-reaching legislation."
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