Page 1953 - Week 06 - Thursday, 8 June 2006
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that this will be reflected in the environment grants program this year, when more funding details are revealed.
The ACT government has killed off $935,000 in funding for the ACT no waste strategy. It looks like the aim of no waste by 2010 could be a pipedream. Again, where is the triple bottom line here? We have a long way to go with waste management in the ACT, yet there is no talk of extending recycling services to public housing complexes such as those in Northbourne Avenue and there are still no recycling facilities in town centres.
The government’s commitment to sustainable transport has to be questioned again, as we see funding for cycling capital works cut this year by over 50 per cent to $350,000, down from $850,000 last year. We are glad to hear that this $350,000 will be used to fund a cycling and walking underpass under Parkes Way near the Russell roundabout, but disappointed to hear that this comes at the cost of funds to build the many missing links in Canberra's cycle network.
Pedal Power pointed out yesterday that, prior to the ACT election, Labor stated it hoped to maintain the level of capital works spending on cycling at $2.2 million a year. The sum of $350,000 is only one-sixth of that. Given constant pressures of climate change and the fact that increasing petrol prices are impacting on Canberra residents, this is a time to invest more in the sustainable transport plan, not less.
Despite the Chief Minister’s acknowledgment of the seriousness of climate change, there is no new funding for energy efficiencies or to enhance the use of renewable energies such as solar technologies. We have some of Australia's foremost alternative energy researchers working in this town, and time and again the Chief Minister misses opportunities for the ACT to lead the way with renewable energy solutions.
The budget papers compare the ACT favourably with other jurisdictions in Australia, while failing to mention that we emit the highest amount of emissions per capita. There are no new initiatives here to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. Targets for greenhouse gas emissions were simply removed. I realise that the energy policy and the climate change strategy papers are still in the development stage, but funds will be required to implement them.
I have racked the budget without success for simple initiatives that could have been funded, such as funding for energy efficiency in public housing, mandatory energy efficiency targets for all new commercial buildings, or an increased and meaningful renewable energy target of 10 per cent.
The government says that it will cut the superannuation arrangements for new judges and magistrates. The remuneration of public judicial officers is falling further behind that of their private sector colleagues. I think that it is counterproductive to match private sector remuneration for many public positions with the excuse that job satisfaction comes from performing a public service. The judiciary has a phenomenally difficult job to perform and it is of the utmost importance that our judges and magistrates are experts in the law and equal to the task of matching wits with barristers commanding fees of over $5,000 a day, otherwise justice will become even more of a commodity which only the rich can afford.
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