2019-05-27
“Dan Andrews has missed the moment to act on climate & environment,” said Leader of the Victorian Greens Samantha Ratnam.
“With ten years to act on climate change, any budget that fails to plan for the urgent transition away from coal and make a significant investment in our environment is a failure of leadership.
“The re-election of a Morrison Government means the responsibility for acting on climate change falls more heavily on the states. Yet the Victorian Budget lacks the vision and courage to meet the challenge of a climate emergency.
“The Greens wanted to see a plan for a just transition away from coal, including a plan for coal workers and investment in new long-term job opportunities. The transition is inevitable but without a clear plan it will happen too late for our climate and without support for workers.
“At a time when the world is facing an extinction crisis, this budget barely lifts a finger to protect Victoria’s natural environment and threatened species. And it does next to nothing to fix the waste crisis, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars sitting in the Sustainability Fund untouched and unspent,” Ratnam said.
Acting Greens Treasury spokesperson Sam Hibbins has slammed the cuts to the public sector.
“Labor’s budget is built on the back of cuts to public sector jobs and wages.”
“Nearly $2 Billion will be ripped out of the public sector, no public sector worker will be safe.”
“Instead of raising revenue from the super profits of banks and property developers, the Labor government has gone after public sector jobs and wages,” Hibbins said.