THE NEWS WRAP: Leading business lobby group warns of economic “complacency”

Legislation putting the carbon tax into motion will almost certainly be passed by Parliament’s lower house this morning, following a lengthy and occasionally bitter debate.

Liberal MP Sophie Mirabella was ejected from Parliament by the deputy speaker and will miss today’s vote, following 35 hours of debate on the issue.

Opposition leader Tony Abbott again called on the Government to delay the carbon tax until after an election, while Prime Minister Julia Gillard labelled Abbott the “biggest wrecker to ever serve in a leadership role in Australian politics.”

Small business groups have raised concern over the impact of the carbon tax, although several clean energy start-ups may benefit from the $10 billion put aside to support green technology.

BCA warns of economic “complacency”

A leading business lobby group has warned that Australia is on a “path of complacency” that could see it suffer similar economic problems as Europe.

Business Council of Australia chief Graham Bradley said that employers and employees needed to be able to strike agreements to boost productivity and innovation, or potentially suffer the same fate as several European economies, which have been mired in a debt crisis.

Zynga to launch new gaming platform

Social gaming firm Zynga has announced that it will break free from Facebook by launching its own range of games.

Zynga, creators of the popular Farmville Facebook game, said that “project Z” will provide a new platform for the 142 million people who regularly play its games.

However, it declined to say when the platform will launch, or which games it will feature.

Overnight

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 9.73 points, or 0.09%, to 11,423.45. The Australian dollar jumped to 99.72 US cents.