The pre-election period always attracts some contentious issues. This time the issue of debate between the two parties is `Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)', a technology that captures the carbon and greenhouse emissions from power stations that widens the use of coal.

The discussion initiated on Saturday when both the parties came up with their policies on the future of coal.

The members of the Labor favours the funding to clean up coal and they came up with $2 billion plan to boost the same earlier. But the Liberals opposed the move and scrapped the funding.

Tony Abbott, the opposition leader, expressed that if he gets re-elected, he would cut the funding of `clean coal' by $400 million. Earlier, he told to scrap $300 million, which means the total reduced amount would be $700 million.

Money worth $150 million has already been cut by Labor.

Ian MacFarlane, the spokesman for opposition infrastructure, said, "At the moment there is too much reliance, almost too much of a free ride, by the coal industry on the government. The mining companies, the coal companies have to invest more of their own money in this technology".

Australia, being the largest exporter of coal and dependent on electricity produced with the help of coal, it's advisable to provide tax credits to investors in mineral exploration, so that the money generated can be invested in technologies related to climate change such as CCS. Prime Minister, Julia Gillard supports this idea.