The federal opposition says it will examine legislation setting up an emissions trading scheme with "great care".
The Rudd government is seeking to put pressure on the opposition to support the scheme - due to begin operation in July 2010 - and to capitalise on the coalition's mixed messages on climate change.
Any legislation will need the support of the opposition or, failing that, the combined backing of five Greens senators, Family First's Steve Fielding and independent Nick Xenophon.
Opposition treasury spokesman Malcolm Turnbull says the government is playing short-term opportunistic politics.
"We will make our decisions in the (lower) house and in the Senate based on the long-term interest of Australia," he told ABC Radio.
"What we will be doing is examining Labor's proposal with great care ... to ensure that it does not put Australian jobs, Australian industries at peril."
The coalition had a shared commitment with the government to deal with climate change, Mr Turnbull said.
"But as always, the devil is in the detail," he said.
"Mr Rudd is already showing signs of hastiness and a .. determination.. to put politics ahead of good government.
"In his haste, he is jeopardising the jobs and the livelihoods, the prosperity of millions of Australians."
Meanwhile, prominent human rights lawyer Julian Burnside says wasting electricity could become a criminal offence in the foreseeable future.
Wasteful large companies in particular could be targeted, he said.
"If we come to general agreement that part of the problem is that people are using too much electricity, then you have to create a regime that encourages people to use less electricity, you might make it an offence to waste electricity," Mr Burnside told ABC Radio.
There were obvious difficulties enforcing such a regime.
"I personally think that there ought to be laws already which create offences in relation to the big polluters," he said.
"There are some big businesses which use electricity in an extraordinarily wasteful way and which use water in an extraordinarily wasteful way.
"They are not subject to the sort of restrictions that ordinary householders have to face."
Industry had to function properly but should be encouraged not to function wastefully, Mr Burnside said.
"I suspect there's a lot that can be done in that
