The federal government has set aside billions for climate change but there’s no budget to address it, observers claim.
Tuesday’s federal budget confirmed that $1 billion was committed to protecting the Great Barrier Reef. Funding for research and recycling programs were also part of the overall $2.3 billion sector sector spend.
The Climate Council stated that Australia’s escalating climate threats make it impossible for the government to spend on climate change initiatives.
“Their own records are showing that climate spending, as a percentage to total budget spending – is just 0.3% for this year and two years,” Nicki Hutley, economist and Climate Council councillor said.
“Then it drops down to 0.2 percent which is just totally insufficient and unconscionable.”
She said that the budget provided significant funding for polluting hydrogen projects and billions to deal with disasters such as recent floods, which are expected to become more frequent as the climate heats.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg estimates that recovery from the recent NSW floods and Queensland floods will require more than $6 billion in support payments to families, industries and communities.
Ms Hutley stated that “if this is an election budget, it has failed to address the key issue of climate change, which we now know increasing parts of our electorate are concerned about, including in regional seats in NSW and Queensland.”
According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, the budget was merely lip service to the environment and treats nature as an extra.
Matt Rose, spokesperson for the foundation, stated that while the government has allocated $50million for koala conservation it has loaned $175 million to the Olive Downs coalmine in central Queensland and approved the clearing around 5000 hectares koala habitat at this mine site.
He said he was pleased with the $1 billion spent on Great Barrier Reef Conservation over the next nine year, but that it would be insignificant without taking meaningful action on climate.
Some welcome initiatives included $636 million over six-years to expand the Indigenous Rangers Program and $50 million to conserve Koalas, which were just listed as endangered.
Rose claimed that there was not enough to address habitat loss or species decline as documented in the Samuel review.
This review revealed that the environment was suffering 20 years from government failures to improve protection system and that Australia was on a path of environmental decline.
Sussan ley, Environment Minister, stated that the budget provided more than $2.3B in additional measures to tackle plastic pollution and help endangered species and the coral reef.
She stated that “We continue to invest to deliver practical environmental outcomes, including a billion-dollar conversion of our waste and recycle industry, funding for environment restoration, and our billion dollar investment in supporting the Great Barrier Reef’s future,” she said.
The budget also confirms that there are more than $800 millions for Antarctica research, exploration and research.