Climate Change Minister Nick Smith says New Zealand farmers are unlikely to be let off the hook on emissions trading costs as their counterparts in Australia might be.
The Opposition Liberal and National Parties there have agreed to press for agriculture to be excluded entirely from emissions trading in Australia.
New Zealand Federated Farmers, which wants agriculture to be excluded from emissions trading here as well, says the opposition potentially has enough voting power in the Australian Senate to block government legislation.
It says that would thwart the New Zealand Government's plan to align its emissions trading scheme with Australia's.
But Dr Smith says aligning the schemes would not mean having to make every aspect of them the same.
He says agriculture represents 15 of Australia's emissions - in New Zealand, it's 50%.
The Australian Government will re-introduce the legislation into the House of Representatives on Thursday.
