MEDIA RELEASE 4TH JUNE 2009
The Conservation Council of South Australia (CCSA) is disappointed the environment is again at the bottom of the Rann Government’s priorities in the 2009 State Budget. While initiatives for transport infrastructure and renewable energy funding are welcomed, the vast bulk of this funding is coming from Commonwealth sources. Closer to home, the impact on SA’s natural environment looks bleak as across-the-board cuts will see jobs slashed and programs cut in the Department of Environment and Heritage.
Stormwater
“South Australians know that an obvious way for us to build our water security and reduce pollution to Gulf St Vincent is for the Government to invest seriously in stormwater harvesting and storage. Yet stormwater has received a measly 2.5% of the water security spend in this year’s budget. While a single Council (Salisbury) will soon be harvesting 20GL of water, State Government Budget announcements for this year do not even amount to 1.3GL” CCSA campaigner Jamnes Danenberg stated.
“CCSA is calling for the State Government to urgently rethink its approach and substantially boost stormwater harvesting. Adelaide Airport and the former Cheltenham racecourse are obvious choices” he added.
River Murray
The Government has allocated no new money for purchase of water for environmental flows for the River Murray, even though this is the most urgent measure to return it to health.
“While the Government has honoured its ‘First Step’ water purchase commitment under the Living Murray, we need to invest in the second and third steps without delay if we are serious about saving our Murray” Mr Danenberg said.
No Species Loss and NatureLinks
The Nature Conservation program that is responsible for two key SA Strategic Plan targets has had a cut of 10%! This is the key program to safeguard our biodiversity against extinctions caused or exacerbated by climate change.
“While we have a Strategic Plan target to ‘lose no species’, still not even half of our threatened species have recovery plans. The Government’s rhetoric about prioritising this program amounts to a target to increase the number of recovery plans by a paltry 1% this year” he said.
Coast and Marine
With spending cuts to the Coast and Marine Conservation program of over 40%, this area must be one of the hardest hit in this environment Budget.
“This is particularly disappointing given the long overdue commitment to rolling out marine parks across the State’s waters to protect our iconic marine species and ecosystems – 85% of which occur nowhere else in the world” Mr Danenberg stated.
Peak Oil
The Government continues to ignore the hard reality that the world is running out of cheap oil, and the need to transform our society and economy accordingly. ‘Peak oil’ does not rate a mention in any of the budget papers, and in 2009 this is inexcusable.
“The Government is in denial – having ignored the sage advice of the Select Committee on the Impact of Peak Oil in SA, which last year called for an Oil Vulnerability Analysis to be conducted to chart a sustainable course for SA.” Mr Danenberg explained.
“All-in-all, this Budget does nothing to prepare us for the key environmental challenges that we face. As total government expenditure continues to grow each year, we see a steady whittling away of investment in the natural resources that economic growth relies on” he concluded.
For further information contact Jamnes Danenberg, CCSA spokesperson
on 8223 5155 or 0411 028 930.
