[Greens-Media] 'E' grade for environmental illiteracy

[Manderson, Roland]

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ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey MEDIA RELEASE
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2 Aug 06

Greens give Environment Minister an 'E' grade for environmental illiteracy

ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey has argued that the environmental hit list in the Canberra Times today shows that the ACT Government is environmentally illiterate, and keen to wash its hands of its long term responsibilities.

"The government's job is to safeguard the unique qualities of our bush capital, not to throw them away for short term financial gains" Dr Foskey said today.

 "All the measures on this hit list are about saving dollars with absolutely no regard to their environmental or social impacts."

"In the face of growing public knowledge and concern about the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, this Government, despite its election promises, has determinedly remained environmentally illiterate."

"The leaked hit list looks like it has been put together by people who know nothing about the environment.  Even worse than that is that the Minister who will make the final cost cutting decisions appears to know nothing about the environment as well."

"These measures abandon what voters regard as key responsibilities of the ACT Government. When the budget was handed down in June, the Greens said the environment appeared to be missing. Now we can see why."

"It makes no sense for the Government to make such far reaching and destructive decisions on the basis of an inquiry - the Costello review - which has not been made public.  Not even the reasoning behind the review has been made public."

"It is like conducting open heart surgery without performing an examination, providing a diagnosis or formulating a recovery plan."

"In the absence of all the necessary information, Canberra people cannot accept that actions as drastic as this are even remotely necessary" Dr Foskey said.

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Roland Manderson   Media Advisor
ACT   Greens    MLA  Deb  Foskey  
Legislative Assembly for the ACT 
ph(02)62050551      m 0412241379
==== www.act.greens.org.au ===== 
  
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