2016-06-20
The Government's announcement today of $100 million per year for green cities taken from Clean Energy Finance Corporation, is its third attempt to rebadge existing CEFC funding while cutting $1.3 billion from ARENA and leaving fossil fuel subsidies untouched.
Greens Sustainable Cities spokesperson, Scott Ludlam, said:
"Green cities are a massive opportunity, not a cheap slogan. The Greens will continue to work for cleaner and more energy efficient neighbourhoods without the senseless sting in the tail that Mr Turnbull is inflicting today."
Greens climate change spokesperson, Larissa Waters, said the announcement today was not new money but taken from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation's budget, which already supports green cities, energy efficiency and sustainable housing.
"Malcolm Turnbull is a serial offender at raiding the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and would have abolished it all together if it weren't for the Senate.
"Just last week, the Turnbull Government announced it would cut $1 billion from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to go into Reef funding.
"It's startling that the Turnbull Government is trying to sell this plan to raid clean energy funding while pushing ahead with coal mines as somehow being a plan to save the Reef.
"The Turnbull Government's election-promise raids of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation follow the Liberals and Labor both agreeing to cut $1 billion from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
"Instead of providing certainty and investment for clean energy, the Liberals have gone from wanting to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, to raiding it, to 'announcing' existing funding for work already happening.
"While investment in clean energy is being jeopardised by the Turnbull Government, the $21 billion in taxpayer-funded subsidies for the fossil fuel industry remain.
"The old parties are subsidising the polluting industries of the past and cutting funding from clean energy to give their big mining company donors an unfair advantage, which endangers our very way of life through global warming," Senator Waters said.