By Kevin Norquay of NZPA

Wellington, April 27 NZPA - Australia's rumoured postponement of its emissions trading scheme (ETS) led to calls today for New Zealand to do the same, but the Government gave no assurances either way.

Australia has reportedly shelved plans to start its carbon pollution reduction scheme by July 2011.

Its scheme would not start before 2013 at the earliest following a decision by cabinet's priorities and budget committee, The Sydney Morning Herald said today.

The decision flew in the face of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's commitment to address climate change, an issue he has described as "the greatest moral challenge of our generation".

In Parliament today, ACT MP John Boscawen called on the Government to "help New Zealand families" by following Australia's lead and putting the emissions trading scheme on hold.

Finance Minister Bill English told the House the issues around the emissions trading scheme were complex, and the Australian situation was not as Mr Boscawen described.

Wellington Chamber of Commerce boss Charles Finny also mounted calls for a postponement, saying he hoped Australia's rethink would be replicated here.

Australia and the United States, whose Climate Change Bill had stalled in recent days, were key trading partners with New Zealand, which would be disadvantaged if it pushed on with its own ETS, he said.

"We are not advocating a do nothing approach, rather we want to move in concert with our major trading partners," Mr Finny said.

"Right now our three largest trading partners have no policy comparable to that which New Zealand is proposing to introduce.

"This means that New Zealand exporters will face increased costs which our trading partners will not."

Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei took the opposite view.

"Any postponement of schemes like this only adds to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, a failure to invest in sustainable options in countries in their domestic areas, it's a real problem in this country, it'd be a real problem in Australia, it's a failed move," she told reporters.

"This Government has based their ETS scheme on buying credits from overseas to cover our failure to reduce emissions, we have enough problems here dealing with just that."

In the US, a fight over immigration derailed plans to unveil a compromise climate change bill.

A bipartisan group of senators led by Democrat John Kerry had been aiming to outline details of their climate change bill today.

That plan was cancelled after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the working group, threatened to pull out if Democrats pushed for a debate on an overhaul of immigration before doing the huge environmental and energy legislation.

Without Graham on board, efforts to pass climate control legislation could be doomed, as he was expected to work to win more Republican support for the bill.

In Australia, the government is likely to take its ETS legislation off the table until after an election, expected later this year.

The Senate was expected to vote on the legislation when Parliament resumed sitting in May.

Prime Minister John Key this month ruled out delaying the introduction of the ETS, saying despite concerns from businesses the introduction was likely to go ahead in July.

The transport fuels, electricity production and industrial processes industries were scheduled to come under the ETS on July 1.

Mr Key acknowledged that some businesses were concerned but said at this stage the Government intended to "continue as planned". The ETS was being phased in "very slowly", he said.