GOVERNMENT FAILS TO BACK PRACTICAL WORK
August 17, 2009
The Labor Party makes a lot of claims about its ‘green’ credentials but when it comes to practical environmental works in regional areas, the action doesn’t match the rhetoric.
In Gippsland, we have seen dramatic cuts in support for improvements to the Gippsland Lakes catchment and the funding for Landcare facilitators has been slashed by the Federal Government.
Farmers, other landholders and local volunteers have been the practical environmentalists of recent decades through investment in better technology and land management techniques.
As more information has become available, it has been regional people who have joined Landcare groups and participated in major revegetation projects along with weed control and pest animal projects.
They have been the people who have rolled their sleeves up, got their hands dirty and moved on with the job of sustainably managing the environment, ably supported by paid facilitators.
The value to the economy and the environment is impossible to measure but it has been highly valued by politicians on both sides of Parliament – particularly when they have been looking for a photo opportunity!
So it is extremely disappointing and frustrating to watch the Rudd Government’s approach to natural resource management which has directly resulted in cuts to the number of Landcare facilitators across our region.
By insisting on funding cuts to the base level of support for catchment management authorities and allocating the rest of the available funds to a competitive round of grants, the Rudd Government has created a system of ‘winners and losers’ across Australia.
If you live in a region which happens to be a government priority of the day, you will be a big winner but if your local authorities miss out on grants, say goodbye to the support staff who coordinate the volunteer effort.
Recently on ABC radio, Minister for Agriculture Tony Burke tried to justify the process by pointing to the amount of government funding allocated to the Great Barrier Reef.
As I’ve said in Federal Parliament, the Gippsland Lakes should be regarded as the Barrier Reef of the South.
The environment of the lakes and catchment are critical to the social, economic and cultural life of Gippslanders but we have seen massive cuts to funding.
The State Government provided $3.2 million per year funding for the Gippsland Lakes Taskforce in 2002 and cut that back to $2 million per year in 2006.
When the State Budget was released in May this year, not a single cent was allocated to the Taskforce in terms of ongoing funding.
Instead of continuing to support the practical environmental works to reduce the amount of nutrients entering the lakes system, the State Government has left it up to the Taskforce to cobble together some funding from a variety of sources.
Instead of a long-term commitment to sustainable environmental management, we have a piecemeal approach that doesn’t reflect the significance of the lakes system or the long-term nature of the practical work required.
The near destruction of Landcare and the lack of long-term funding for the Gippsland Lakes Taskforce are just two examples of the Labor Party talking about environmental projects but failing to deliver on the ground.