Senate votes down Australian cap-and-trade bill

You gotta love the Aussies.

Australia's plans for transitioning to a low carbon economy were thrown into turmoil today when the opposition successfully blocked the government's flagship emission cap-and-trade bill for the second time this year.

The vote, which follows a dramatic week that saw opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull ousted over his decision to reach a compromise with the government over the bill, resulted in the bill being defeated by 41 votes to 33.

The vote represented a victory for Tony Abbott, who replaced Turnbull yesterday as leader of the opposition Liberal Party and successfully managed to marshal Senators that had been previously split on the issue to vote against the bill.