Cleaning up the Gillard Government’s insulation disasters has so far cost Australian taxpayers $98 million with the meter still running. The mounting cost of inspections and related rectification work was revealed this evening by departmental officials in Senate Supplementary Budget Estimates under questioning from Senator Simon Birmingham, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment.…
Labor must speak with one tongue on the Murray-Darling Basin Plan, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. “The more Labor talks about Murray-Darling Basin reform the more they contradict each other,” Senator Birmingham said. “According to Julia Gillard they will do whatever it takes to implement the MDBA’s plan. “According to Tony Burke…
Tony Burke and Julia Gillard want to send a parliamentary committee to talk to communities that they do not have the courage to face. Their move today highlights the Government’s lack of response to the Authority’s Draft Plan Guide and the failure of Labor’s policies to date and shows it now wants to…
Water Minister Tony Burke is resorting to taxpayer funded advertising as he tries to have it both ways on the Murray-Darling Basin reform consultation process, Coalition Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. “On the one hand, Mr Burke is avoiding stakeholder passions at Basin-wide consultation sessions by saying he doesn’t want to be…
Water Minister Tony Burke must front up and attend some of the Community Information Sessions being conducted by the Murray-Darling Basin Authority into its Guide to the proposed Basin Plan. More than 600 concerned and passionate locals attended the first of these sessions in Shepparton today, expressing their frustrations at the proposals within…
Coalition Murray-Darling Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham is in Shepparton today to witness firsthand the start of the Murray-Darling Basin Authority’s consultation on its Guide to the proposed Basin Plan. “It is critically important that we get Basin reform right for the environment, for our ongoing productive capacity and for the communities relying on…
Communities throughout the Murray-Darling Basin have been suffering throughout years of drought, while this iconic river system has suffered through not only drought, but mismanagement. If we are to get a plan that deals with the three critical issues of, the economy, peoples’ lives as identified in the social fabric of the basin,…
The Gillard Labor Government must rule out slashing investment in water saving infrastructure projects, the Coalition’s Murray-Darling Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. It’s been revealed today that the Government is considering “redirecting” significant funds from water saving infrastructure projects. “When Julia Gillard promised more money for water buybacks during the election…
Another damning indictment of the Government’s management of environmental programs has been released today, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today. The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) today released* its Performance Audit Report into Labor’s failed $300 million Green Loans Program. “The ANAO has confirmed the systemic problems already…
Newly appointed Water Minister Tony Burke will be judged by his deeds rather than more words such as those offered today, Coalition Murray-Darling Basin spokesman Simon Birmingham said today. Mr Burke has today signalled a shift by Labor towards the Coalition’s position of understanding and addressing the impacts on Basin communities of water…