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The government announced a fixed carbon price of A$23 (US$24.60) per tonne to begin on July 1, 2012. Ms Gillard said there was an "avalanche of science" to tell us the climate is changing.

Ms Gillard said there had been "false steps" and "mis-steps" on the road to the carbon price. "But we are here now and now is the time to get this done. As a nation we need to put a price on carbon and create a clean energy future."

Ms Gillard said the policy was ultimately quite simple: the government would require 500 big polluters to pay a price per tonne for the carbon they release into the air.

"At the moment those big polluters can release that pollution into our atmosphere for free. This will cause the polluters to innovate and change to reduce their bills. In doing so they will reduce their carbon pollution".

"This all adds up to a reduction in carbon pollution of 160 million tonnes by 2020. That's the equivalent of taking 45 million cars off the road." Climate Change Minister Greg Combet said the coal mines "most affected" by the tax would be offered financial help.

"There is in the package today A$1.3 billion (US$1.39 billion) worth of support for the most affected coal mines and the people who work within them," Mr Combet said.

He also touched on the coming support for electricity providers.

"The government will help transform the electricity generating sector while securing the energy supplies for Australian households and businesses." Ms Gillard said she had an "open mind" about parliamentary scrutiny of the package, including the possibility of an inquiry.

But the government package would not be up for negotiation, she signalled.

"This will be the package that comes to parliament and this will be the package that goes through the parliament," she said.

"This is the package that will start on the first of July next year." Ms Gillard confirmed a taxpayer-funded advertising campaign on the carbon price would begin soon.

"In the weeks ahead people will see advertising to assist them to digest this big change to the Australian economy." Despite the focus on renewable energy, Ms Gillard rejected a suggestion the government had given up on carbon capture and storage technologies.

When asked exactly when the government's advertising campaign would begin, Ms Gillard did not give a specific date, saying only that it would start in the coming weeks and months.

"We've got a lot of work to do to hold our place in the race that the world is running," she said.

Earlier, it was revealed parliament will start seeing tax related draft laws from August.

By 2020 the tax will have removed the emission equivalent of 45 million cars.

"That's a lot," Ms Gillard said.

Treasurer Wayne Swan says the cost of pricing carbon is small, particularly if the country acts now.

"The longer we delay, the greater the cost and the more difficult the transition," Mr Swan said.

"Under a carbon price we can see strong growth in the economy, we can see strong jobs growth, we see strong growth in incomes, and we can do all of that while making deep cuts in carbon pollution." Prices are expected to rise 0.7 per cent in the first year that the carbon price is introduced.

"That a modest price increase from a scheme that applies to the 500 largest polluters," he said.

Mr Swan says the government remains on track to bring the budget back to surplus in 2012/13.

"The reforms have a net cost of $4.3 billion over the next four years, but the bulk of this, $2.9 billion, is in the first year as you would expect with a reform of this magnitude," he said.

"Once the scheme is up and running, the impacts are broadly budget neutral and only have a modest impact on budget surpluses." Ms Gillard said there were three measures that were "government-only measures", meaning they were not supported by the Multi-Party Climate Change Committee: support for the coal and steel industries, and changes to fuel tax credits for heavy vehicles.

The changes to heavy vehicles would be changed by regulation in the next session of parliament, she said. Support for the coal industry would come through government cash grants.

"Steel is something that we will bring to the parliament to legislate so there is security for the steel industry. I believe we will able to secure that through the parliament." Ms Gillard said the 0.7 per cent CPI increase could not be compared to the 1.1 per cent CPI increase which had been forecasted under the Rudd government's CPRS (Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme).

"You can't just compare the two figures - they're off a different base," she said.

Ms Gillard said the CPRS "ran into a brick wall".

"I've knocked the brick wall down. This is going through, this is done, full stop."