Labor’s wasteful spending of taxpayers’ money is further highlighted by the sale of a Northern Territory property once intended for a carbon farming demonstration project, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment Simon Birmingham said today.
The location of the planned but ill-defined Henbury Conservation Project Henbury Station is reportedly being placed on the market this week, less than two months after a parent company went into receivership.
The Federal Labor Government in 2011 contributed $9.2 million of taxpayers’ money to the $13.5 million purchase of Henbury Station by what is now known as Henbury Station Proprietary Limited, following termination of a licence agreement with its former parent company.
“This is yet another example of Labor wasting taxpayers’ money on an environment project seemingly without appropriate safeguards if anything were to go wrong,” Senator Birmingham said.
“Tony Burke appears to have followed in the footsteps of Peter Garrett’s pink batts and green loans schemes in finding yet another way to be profligate with taxpayers’ money.
“Mark Butler, as Labor’s latest Environment minister, is yet to respond to my request for the details of the Henbury deal to be revealed and just what, if anything, Australians might now receive in return for Labor’s latest reckless spending of taxpayer cash.
“The apparent absence of clear returns for the taxpayer, whether financial or by way of conservation or similar outcomes, has been of concern to the Coalition from the outset.
“With the project yet to get off the ground after two years; a parent company in receivership; apparent termination of a licence agreement with the parent company; and now a property sale, taxpayers shouldn’t be holding their breath to see outcomes.
“This is another clear example of Labor waste which, if elected, a Coalition Government will end by restoring proper processes and scrutiny to any future commitments.”