While on camera the gesture appeared targeted at Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong - who had the call - Senator Heffernan says the "obscene message" was meant for Labor backbencher and chair of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee, Glenn Sterle, to which he later apologised.

Earlier today all non-Government Senators voted down Labor's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme in the Senate.

But the defeat of the legislation did not quell the debate, which was off to a feisty start when Senator Wong confirmed the Government would bring the bill back before the end of the year.

Deputy Liberal leader in the Senate, Eric Abetz, kicked off questions by asking Senator Wong: "Now that the Minister's flawed and rushed emissions trading scheme has been defeated, will the government give a commitment that this legislation will not be reintroduced before the UN climate change meeting at Copenhagen in December?"

Senator Wong used the question to "remind" Senator Abetz of Labor's commitment to a scheme and their pledge to have a deal on the table at the Copenhagen meeting.

"We will bring this back. We will bring this legislation back because, whilst those on the other side want to continue to deny that climate change is real and continue to be divided on this issue, we are firm in our resolve to do the right thing, to do what we told Australians before the last election we would do and to pass this legislation.

"I remind those opposite what happened here today. One of the major political parties kept its election commitment. Labor Senators voted to reduce Australia’s carbon pollution under a cap-and-trade scheme."