2020-11-11
The Victorian Greens will today move a motion calling on the Andrews Labor Government to support a Green New Deal in Victoria.
First popularised overseas, a ‘Green New Deal’ is a plan which would see the government borrow funds at low interest rates to make big investments in job-creating projects that deal with the climate and social crises we face right now.
The Greens’ motion – which will be debated and voted on in the upper house – calls on the government to endorse a Green New Deal for the state and to use the State Budget as an opportunity to create good quality jobs and to build a caring society and clean economy.
It specifically calls for investment in:
- More publicly-owned renewable energy and storage projects, with a transition plan for coal workers
- A big build of public housing
- Employing more educators, healthcare workers and social support workers
- Regenerating bushfire-affected areas and protecting threatened species
- Active transport infrastructure
- Reviving our main shopping strips
- A recycling revolution
Acting Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell, said the pandemic had provided the government with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build Victoria back better and that a Green New Deal was the best path forward.
She added that by passing this motion the government would be sending a clear message to Victorians that its COVID-19 recovery plan will tackle climate change, promote equality and build a caring society, while creating the jobs we need.
The recent election results in the U.S. have made clear that there is widespread support for a Green New Deal. Now it’s time for Victoria to adopt its own.
Quotes attributable to Acting Leader of the Victorian Greens, Ellen Sandell MP:
“COVID-19 has given us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build Victoria back better, and the upcoming State Budget will be the first real measure of this.
“The Andrews Government shouldn’t just use the Budget to get Victoria back to where we were before - with record homelessness, polluting fossil fuel energy, underpaid nurses and carers and species going extinct.
“Instead, the Government should use this opportunity to create the Victoria we want: by creating jobs in building public housing, protecting the environment and creating more well-paid caring jobs.”