News | 31st Jul, 2012

Vic Govt slammed

31 July 2012
Weekly Times

THE Victorian government is taking the environment backwards.

Broken promises, poor vision and an inability to listen to the public are behind the decline, the state's peak environmental lobby group says. 

A report by Environment Victoria says the Baillieu government, in its first 18 months in power, doesn't consider environmental protection a priority and has no clear plan to tackle declining biodiversity, climate change, unsustainable water use and Melbourne's urban sprawl.

Environment Victoria CEO Kelly O'Shanassy says the report referenced a poll of 1000 people, which found that the government was out of touch with the environmental interests and attitudes of Victorians.

"Victorians want liveable cities, not urban sprawl," Ms O'Shanassy said in a statement.

"They want the government to make decisions that enhance the natural environment and ease the pressure on the cost of living.

"But the government's decisions are taking us in the opposite direction."

Out of 57 significant environmental policy commitments the government made ahead of the 2010 election, it had so far delivered only five in full and already broken three, the report said.

The report, entitled Victoria's Environment: A State in Reverse, also attacked the government for scrapping a legislated target of a 20 per cent reduction in greenhouse pollution by 2020, reintroducing cattle grazing in the Alpine National Park and axing plans to phase out the Hazelwood coal-fired power station.

Its survey found that 78 per cent of Victorians want to see more investment in renewable energy and 63 per cent want fewer coal-fired power stations, but it says the government has made wind farms harder to build and solar power more expensive. 

Source

Read the report 'Victoria's Environment: A State in Reverse here

Read CEO Kelly O'Shanassy's blog on the Baillieu government's performance here

Read our media release here