2018-07-25
The Victorian Greens are calling on the Andrews Government to urgently address their failure to invest funds collected by the Municipal and Industrial Landfill Levy to adequately address the state’s waste crisis.
In a report tabled today, the Victorian Auditor General found that activities funded by the levy were at risk of not achieving the legislative objectives of better waste management, reduced greenhouse gases or effective adaptations to climate change.
According to the report, there is no process to ensure agencies receiving funding from the levy spend the money in line with these objectives.
Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens spokesperson for Waste, Huong Truong
"The Andrews Government got the easy part of collecting the levy from Victorians right, but the hard part of investing money so it makes a difference has been a failure.
"Forward thinking nations are moving towards a circular economy and finding innovative ways to eliminate waste. Half a billion dollars would go a long way in this space, and the Andrews Government has serious questions to answer as to why this money is sitting idle in state coffers.”
“We need complete transparency with how these funds are allocated so we can firstly ensure Victorians are getting value for money, and secondly actually address the very real issues of waste management and climate change instead of just talking about it.”
Huong Truong MLC