Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has staked her minority government’s future on passing the laws, which would force around 500 big polluting companies to pay for carbon emissions through a A$23 ($23.75) per tonne carbon tax from July 2012, ahead of emissions trading from mid 2015.
Companies mining coal in Australia include London-listed Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata.
See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/11187.