Major business lobby groups in Australia say the price the government has set for carbon credits is too high, that it will make the industry less competitive and will increase the risk of Australian jobs going overseas.
Carbon dioxide emissions will be be taxed at $A23 a tonne from 2012, covering 500 firms, and a market-based trading scheme will be introduced in 2015.
The Government will also spend just over $A12 billion on industry measures, with steel and coal the biggest winners.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Peter Anderson told the ABC that while large industries and households are getting significant assistance, small and medium businesses have been left out.
He says smaller business cannot pass on costs in the same way that their larger competitors can.
Mr Anderson says his main concern remains that many other countries still do not have a carbon price.
The Australian Industry Group has also expressed its concerns about the package, saying the compensation to trade-exposed firms may not be high enough and that the $A23 per tonne is too high.
However, not all businesses are against the the carbon price.
The renewable energy industry welcomed the Government's proposed $A10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation which will invest in large scale renewable energy projects.
