Labor and the Greens have today again shown they’re not serious about listening to Murray-Darling Basin communities about the proposed Basin Plan, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. Senator Birmingham today attended today’s Murray-Darling Basin Authority public meeting in Murray Bridge, as did fellow federal Liberal MPs Patrick Secker, Jamie Briggs and…
The Gillard Government has condemned Australia to a carbon tax just as the rest of the world is set to step away from legally binding international agreements, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today. It follows confirmation the Government’s carbon tax legislation has received Royal Assent. “Tonight our time…
A reasonable person would think that a plan for the sustainable management of the Murray-Darling Basin would specify how much water would be used for particular environmental assets and how much water would be recovered from particular communities. The plan released today does neither. This plan is as murky as the very waterways it…
A drip feed of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s draft Basin Plan is in conflict with its stated need for secrecy just a year ago, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. Despite the long overdue proposed Basin Plan having been scheduled now for release on 28 November, reports in recent weeks indicate several…
Australians have just 40 sleeps to Christmas and another 99 sleeps to the start of their new bureaucracy under Julia Gillard’s carbon tax, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today. The Gillard Government today announced its Clean Energy Regulator will begin operations on 2 April 2012. “Labor has today…
If the carbon tax passes today, the Prime Minister should not gazette the legislation but do the honourable thing and immediately call an election so Australians can have their say on the carbon tax. In the meantime, the Coalition will seek to limit the possible increases to electricity prices under Labor’s carbon tax…
The Murray-Darling Basin Authority has announced yet another delay to the release of its long overdue proposed Basin Plan. The latest delay comes just one day after the COAG Reform Council warned that any further extension of timeframes for the proposed Basin Plan‘s delivery was a key risk to future reform milestones. …
A key report has today highlighted just how far Murray-Darling Basin reform has gone off the rails under Labor, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. The COAG (Council of Australian Governments) Reform Council today released its Water Management Partnerships: Performance report for 2010 a report on the progress of the Commonwealth…
The Auditor-General has been asked to investigate the Gillard Government handing over $20 million of Murray-Darling Basin water efficiency money for a pipeline project in New South Wales that doesn’t even deliver any water savings. It follows revelations in this week’s Senate Estimates that federal funding for the pipeline between Orange and the…
Senators Barnaby Joyce and Simon Birmingham have today released a petition* asking people to call on the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) to hold public meetings after the release of the draft Basin Plan and for the Water Minister, Tony Burke, to attend those meetings. Yesterday, it was revealed to the Senate that the…