News

• MEDIA RELEASE | Energy Efficiency Makeover for Canberra

  Greens lead candidate for Ginninderra, Meredith Hunter, today announced a plan to better utilise Federal funding allocated to the ACT for household energy efficiency.

  “The ACT Greens Energy Efficiency Makeover plan will increase the roll out and scale, targeting houses below a 3-star rating,” Hunter said.

  “The Greens are calling for the ACT Government to put $500,000 on the table now, to fund the plan that will put Canberra a step out in front and take full advantage of Federal funding.”

  “Under the program, homes would have an expert assessment of what steps are needed to lift their energy rating, then the retrofit would be conducted by qualified tradespeople and installers.”

  “This is an integrated program delivering a one-stop service for people to make their homes as energy efficient as possible.”

  “Wall insulation, curtains and blinds, gap sealers, solar hot water and other efficiency measures will be paid for, over time, by reduced energy bills. The scheme will manage the debt by attaching it to the house, and organising repayments through energy bills”

  The benefits for Canberra will include:

  -For home owners it will mean houses that cost less to run and are worth more as an asset;
  -For tenants it will mean a warmer home in winter, and cooler in summer;
  -For local businesses it will be the chance to gear up for the eventual roll out of schemes like this across Australia.
  -A dramatic drop in our greenhouse emissions, and the chance for Canberra to point the way for the rest of Australia.

  “This program steps beyond the ad hoc rebates and subsidies offered by other parties, to make sure that the whole community is set up for a low energy future” Ms Hunter said.

• OPINION POLLS | Greens to hold balance of power?

  A poll published by the Canberra Times has predicted that the ACT Greens will win 4 seats in the October 18 election.  The poll suggests that the Greens will double their vote in each electorate.

  The Patterson-Canberra Times poll is predicting that the final make-up of the Assembly will be 6 Labor, 6 Liberal, 4 Greens and 1 seat undecided - that seat being the seventh seat in Molongolo.  For this seat, the poll predicted a close contest between a third ALP candidate and independent, ex-Queanbeyan mayor Frank Pangallo.

  While heartening, this is a poll of only 1200 voters and has a 4.9% margin of error in each electorate.  It gives some indication of voters’ intentions, the Greens campaign team is taking nothing for granted.  We will be out there until voting closes talking to voters in all three electorates at shopping centre stalls, on people’s doorsteps and at community forums.

  If you want to help the Greens make this opinion poll prediction a reality, talk to your family and friends about the benefits of voting Green.  If you would also like to volunteer for the ACT Greens on or before election day, call our office on 6247 6350.

  Voters want party to end for majority rule

  Stanhope will need Greens to hold power

  Poll outcome on a knife edge

  Poll results no comfort to Labor or Liberals

• MEDIA RELEASE | Supporting sustainable small business

  The ACT Greens lead candidate for Brindabella Amanda Bresnan today announced the ACT Greens initiative to encourage the growth of small businesses in the ACT.

  “There are around 24,000 small businesses operating in the ACT, which contribute to the richness and diversity of the ACT business environment. The ACT Greens want to see small businesses become more viable and competitive in the ACT economy, and we will introduce initiatives to encourage this”, Ms Bresnan said.

  “Since the loss of the Small Business Commissioner and the ACT Government Business Advisory Service after the 2006 Functional Review, the only remaining small business advisory service has been outsourced to a national accounting firm, leaving no ACT-based knowledge or ongoing engagement”.

  “It is important that we help small businesses to ensure that they are not the hardest hit by the global economic situation. Providing stability and advice are two of the best ways we can support small business”.

  “We also need to take into consideration the significance of a retail slump to local retail businesses”.

  “The ACT Greens would establish a network of small business advisors  to provide small business advice based on a knowledge and understanding of business conditions in the ACT region”.

  “This network would work to bring together key parts of the ACT small business community such as small environmental industries, health and wellbeing service providers, services for the aged, and other priority growth areas for the ACT”.

  “The ACT Greens would also continue stronger support for small business incubators, but would ensure that the involvement of businesses is not time-limited but based on when a business is ready to progress.”

  Other initiatives will include:
  -Initiating a roundtable of small businesses to assess small business needs in the ACT.
  -Requiring pre-approval cost-benefit analyses of large new commercial developments to include a small business impact statement.
  -Promoting the position of small business in tenancy agreements.
  -Requiring the ACT Government to pay invoices from small businesses within 28 business days.
  -Ensuring that small businesses are not discriminated through Government tendering processes. This includes appropriate insurance cover, ISO standards and certifications.

  “The proposals of the ACT Greens are all about how we plan the future of the ACT and encourage local initiative. We need to add depth and quality to the ACT economy, and small businesses will play a key role in this”, Ms Bresnan said