MEDIA RELEASE
There are some good investments in there, such as the GreenHome loans and rebates for landlords but these were election promises that were always going to be kept he said.
The paradigm shift Australia so desperately needed is not there he said.
In almost every case business as usual won out over new thinking:
- Roads are still getting priority over public transport (which neglects the looming realities of peak oil, as well as climate change)
- Fossil fuel subsidies are still there, with taxpayers contributing more than $7.8 billion dollars to exacerbating climate change, rather than trying to stop it
- So-called "clean coal" is receiving $500 million dollars, although it is untested and, even if it could deliver, will not reduce emissions in Australia for at least 20 years
- Power-intensive desalination is getting the lions share of funding in the new Water for the Future package ($1 billion over 4 years compared to $176 million for rainwater, greywater and stormwater)
- The Murray River has been left to languish with a paltry $400 million dollars committed as opposed to the $1.5 billion that is needed to fast-track water buybacks.