[Greens-Media] Greens Leader Christine Milne's budget response

[Hetherington, Alison (Sen C. Milne)]

MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday 14 May 2013


A Weaker, Dumber, Meaner, Australia 2013 Budget: Greens

Mining Tax slumps to $200 million as $1 billion taken from clean energy and the environment and $2.3 billion cut from universities

This is a disappointing Budget that will make Australia weaker, dumber and meaner say the Australian Greens.

Greens Leader Senator Christine Milne said this is demonstrated by slashing funding to universities and renewable energy, failing to support single parents and the unemployed and delaying, for the second time, our commitment to increase foreign aid to 0.5 per cent of GNI until 2017.

"All of this could have been avoided if Labor had the backbone to stand up to the big mining companies and abolish fossil fuel subsidies and fix the mining tax. This year the mining tax collected a shocking $200 million, down from the promised $3 billion," Senator Milne said.

"This begs the question whether it costs more to administer the mining tax than it raises. It's time for the Prime Minister to explain how this complete and utter policy failure makes Australia 'stronger, smarter, fairer'.

"Australia is weaker, dumber and meaner because Labor is afraid of the electoral clout of the big miners and their fat wallets.

"The big spending on schools and disability care has been back ended, with only $470 million allocated to fund Gonski in the first year.

"The small increase in research funding does not make up for the $2.3 billion cut to universities this year on top of the $1 billion hit to universities and research over the past year. And 165 job losses from the CSIRO will not make the country 'smarter'.

"Labor has made deep cuts of $685 million to renewable energy and energy efficiency, reneging on its commitment to the Greens in the Clean Energy agreement.

"This comes on top of $257 million in cuts to the Biodiversity Fund, further evidence that Labor cannot be trusted on the environment and climate change. Adding insult to injury, $32 million of this is being re-directed to the Tasmanian Forestry Agreement.

"The paltry assistance of $19 a week to Newstart recipients, including single parents, puts a lie to Labor's claims of a 'fairer society'.

"It's an insult to those who are struggling to make ends meet. The Gillard government has failed to increase payments by the $50 a week that business and the community sector agreed was essential to prevent them falling deeper into poverty.

"It is neither 'smart' nor 'fair' to abandon the poor in Australia or in the region. A permanent redirection of $375 million to our immigration policies from foreign aid makes us the third highest recipient of our own aid funding. This makes us dumb and mean.

"There are some positive measures in this Budget, many of them championed by the Greens, including:


*         $129 million boost in funding for the ABC, an increase of $30 million for SBS and $5.4 million for community radio;

*         Cutting $1.1 billion from unnecessary support for coal mining and so-called 'clean-coal' technologies;

*         Preventing rorts by mining companies by better targeting the deduction for exploration activities, saving $1.1 billion; and

*         $3 billion for Melbourne Metro rail project - Labor is making a huge mistake by relying on private funding to make up the difference.
"This Budget shows you can't trust Labor to look after people or the environment.

"More worrying still is that there is no consistent values base or direction for the country and Tony Abbott will embrace all of these cuts as work done on his behalf.

"If Labor is prepared to sell out on universities, students, single parents, the unemployed and pretend the climate crisis is now a sub-set of the environment department, what would it do in Opposition without the Greens' strong voice in the Senate to stand up against the excesses of Tony Abbott," Senator Milne said.


Media Contact: Georgie Klug 0438 376 082