Australia Govt Scraps New Carbon-Trade Inquiry

Inquiry chair Craig Thomson said on Thursday that Treasurer Wayne Swan had written to his committee to ask that the inquiry not go ahead.

The Australian government has abandoned plans to hold a parliamentary inquiry into its own recently announced policy for curbing greenhouse-gas emissions.

The inquiry, announced last week, had sparked concerns that the government was going cold on its policy, amid industry claims that it would hurt efforts to revive the local economy.

Inquiry chair Craig Thomson said on Thursday that Treasurer Wayne Swan had written to his committee to ask that the inquiry not go ahead, as the government did not want any confusion over its plans for carbon trading, due to start in July 2010.