Business New Zealand still hopes the changes to the emissions trading scheme will be adopted, even though a Government Select Committee looking at those amendments failed to agree on whether the Bill be passed.
The lobby group's energy, environment and infrastructure manager, John Carnegie, said it would have been preferable if a majority of the select committee had supported the amendments.
"It just means it has to go into the House and move through the legislative process by using the supplementary order papers, which isn't desirable.
"But, fundamentally, we support the Government's redesign for the fact that it seems to be a better balance between the environment and the economy."
Parliament's Finance and Expenditure Committee yesterday reported it had split along party lines and was unable to agree on whether to recommend the Climate Change Response (Moderated Emissions Trading) Amendment Bill be passed.
Climate Change Minister Nick Smith said the proposed changes would have to be passed by Christmas to make the ETS workable and affordable.
He said the existing law would increase electricity prices by 10%, part of $400 million in higher costs that would come into law from January 1.
Mr Carnegie said the select committee impasse was no surprise as the views of the committee's members were well known, and in its submission Business New Zealand had advocated that debate and consideration on the Bill be delayed until after next month's international climate change conference in Copenhagen.
If the delay resulted in better policy, Mr Carnegie said business would be tolerant, but it was looking for something definitive.
Nor was New Zealand Business Council for Sustainable Development chief executive Peter Neilson surprised at the impasse.
He said the dispute came down to what the ETS was for: keeping jobs or trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the least cost to New Zealand.
As for the Copenhagen conference, Mr Neilson said the debate around the ETS signalled New Zealand was doing something, but of great importance was our emission's target which would be discussed at the conference.
Federated Farmers said New Zealand was now the only country in the world to include agriculture in its ETS.
Australia yesterday excluded the sector.
