Thousands of people gather in Canberra to protest at Prime Minister Julia Gillard's plans for the unpopular tax

More than 2,000 protesters gathered outside Australia's Parliament House on Tuesday to demonstrate against government plans to make the country's biggest air polluters pay a tax on the carbon gas they produce.

The prime minister, Julia Gillard, is poised to pass the unpopular tax with the support of independent legislators and the Greens party. Protesters complained that Gillard had promised not to introduce a carbon tax when her centre-left Labor party was narrowly re-elected last year. Some called for a new election.

Gillard plans to impose a A$23(£14) tax on every metric tonne of carbon gas produced starting 1 July next year. The opposition called on the prime minister to apologise to parliament for winning the election on a falsehood that her government would not tax carbon emissions.

But Gillard said the carbon tax deal she struck with the independents and Greens was the best option for Australia's future. "I take the responsibility for having made that decision. I understand that has caused disappointment among many," she told parliament. "But you get elected to this position to make the tough decisions that are important for the nation's future."

The protest coincided with parliament's first session after a five-week break.

(AP / Guardian.co.uk, 16/08/2011)