Talking carbon tax is all the rage in Canberra at the moment, and the temperature of the debate is steadily rising.

Proving good to his “we’ll fight this every second, every minute, every hour, every day…” rhetoric, opposition leader Tony Abbott is doing his darnedest to whack the government with the “great big new tax” stick (though Labor may argue it’s more shtick than stick) and early opinion polls suggest the Coalition may be gaining traction.

As reported by The Daily Telegraph, a NSW opinion poll of 1200 people (ran by the NSW Coalition) suggests voters “have overwhelmingly rejected a carbon tax”, with only 18% saying they were in favour of it.

That may prove a grim harbinger for Julia Gillard, and she’s not the only politician with much at stake in the climate change debate. According to polling conducted for the NSW Nationals, Independent MP Rob Oakeshott is feeling the heat in his electorate, with 52% of sampled citizens in the seat of Lyne now viewing him unfavourably.

Meanwhile fellow “Three Amigo” MP Tony Windsor has reportedly received death threats he links to Abbott’s “people’s revolt” rhetoric, and political commentary has emerged from an unlikely source: cricket superstar and Liz Hurley’s Johnny-come-lately, Shane Warne, who tweeted to his 390,000-plus followers that the PM should “reduce taxes for all the hard working people in Australia… PLEASE !!!!!!” It’s hard to ignore a plea with six exclamation marks.

Here’s a snapshot of what the pundits are saying and how many tangents of this vexed issue are being reported:

Sydney Morning Herald

Phillip Coorey: MPs to ignore climate belief and attack on tax

“…independent MP Tony Windsor — one target of Mr Abbott’s call for a ‘people’s revolt’ — revealed he had received death threats.

“Mr Windsor told the Seven Network that unless the harsh language of the debate so far was toned down, inside Parliament and on talkback radio, there could be another shooting like that of the Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.”

Jacqueline Maley: Abbott leads his troops into battle and gets ambushed by Stanka

“…if anything Abbott seemed to gain momentum. He hijacked question time for the third time in a row, with a motion to suspend standing orders which meant he got a full 10 minutes to harangue the Prime Minister on her climate tax volte-face.”

The Age

Tony Wright: Warnie’s sledges better than the politicians’

“…in the current political atmosphere nobody would be entirely dumbfounded to discover that Daryl Somers had ventured a view.”

The Australian

Peter van Onselen: Hollow political rhetoric breeding cynicism

“The inability of our leaders — and some commentators — to understand a few basics about English is more than a little frustrating in the debate about Labor’s broken promise on a carbon tax.”

Imre Salusinszky and James Madden: Nationals polling shows Rob Oakeshott’s support is shot

“Voter support for Rob Oakeshott has fallen through the floor according to confidential polling conducted for the NSW Nationals since the independent MP pledged his support for Julia Gillard’s carbon tax.”

Geoff Carmody: Doing nothing is preferable to this

“Australia’s official analysis of greenhouse gas mitigation policies assumes away the most insuperable problem, getting a global deal, rather than assessing why we’ve failed.”

The Drum

Annabel Crabb: Taking confidence in the certainty of the uncertain

“For the PM, the thrilling money-or-the-box promise of what might be in her carbon tax should — for right-thinking Australian captains of industry — prove far more compelling than the bleak and unremitting tedium of not having to pay one at all.”

Herald Sun

Phillip Hudson: Brotherhood of St Laurence favours carbon tax

“The surprise support from the charity that fights poverty is a big boost for Prime Minister Julia Gillard as she battles Opposition claims the tax will hurt consumers.”

The Daily Telegraph

Simon Benson: Carbon tax is poll poison for NSW

“In a sign of the battle ahead for Julia Gillard in selling the new tax to voters, only 18 per cent said they were in favour of a tax. About the same number said they had not yet made up their mind.”

The Mercury

Peter Boyer: We we need a carbon price

“Last week’s announcement by Julia Gillard that Australia would impose a price on carbon pollution from July 2012 was as predictable as its opponents’ response that the move was a betrayal of the people’s trust. What isn’t so predictable is how this is going to pan out.”