Australia has no use for the carbon pricing scheme that Prime Minister Julia Gillard introduced in Parliament Tuesday, says Opposition Leader Tony Abbott, who asserted that the proposal would even increase local carbon emissions.

In his response to the government plan, Abbott cited studies that showed present domestic carbon emissions of 578 million tonnes will jump to 671 million tonnes and asked, "What is the point of all the pain of this carbon tax if our emissions are actually going to increase?"

"We are just engaging in a massive transfer of wealth from this country to carbon traders overseas," the opposition leader declared as reported Wednesday by The Sydney Morning Herald.

Abbott added that the carbon pricing measures being pushed by Gillard will only contradict the policy of the previous Labor government of Kevin Rudd and will betray her party's earlier pledge not to impose any tax anchored to carbon emissions.

There is no clear basis to support legislation that stands on the changing stand of the government, depending on the calls of the circumstances, Abbott stressed, adding that Labor MPs need not to waste their time supporting the bill of a floundering leader.

The planned carbon pricing is not only based on false claims, he said. Energy costs will not be cut by the regime, he said, as shown by the federal government's own assertion that gas and electricity prices will shoot up in the short term during the initial implementation period.

Abbott called on Gillard to consider the uncertain local and global economic conditions and asserted that "now is not the time to add to the burdens on business ... on families, now is not the time to add to sovereign risk issues."

Abbott also disputed Gillard's claims that the carbon pricing scheme would generate additional job opportunities for Australians, pointing to an economic modeling commissioned by the Victoria government, which showed that more than 23,000 jobs would be lost by 2015 once the proposal has been approved.

"Show me a credible economist, prime minister, who thinks that higher prices create more jobs," Abbott was quoted by ABC as saying in throwing a challenge to Gillard, who remained in the chamber listening to him.