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Posts Tagged ‘environment’

MEDIA RELEASE | Defence must rule out any immediate health risks to Belconnen residents - Greens

Monday, September 29th, 2008

“There should be an independent investigation into this
matter” - Hunter

The Defence Department must urgently reveal if the contaminated site of former Naval Transmission Station at Lawson poses any immediate health risks to Belconnen residents, Meredith Hunter, ACT Greens candidate for Ginninderra said today. (see page 1, today’s Canberra Times)

“Belconnen residents need to know if the toxic substances at the Lawson site, including heavy metals, as well as cancer-causing dioxins and asbestos are putting their health at risk,” Ms Hunter said.

“The reports indicate that both the soil and groundwater are contaminated and that there is unsecured asbestos at the site. Defence must immediately release all information relating to the contamination of the site to the public.

“There should be an independent investigation into why the Defence Department did not release this critical information to the public; how long it has known about the contamination at the site; what it told the ACT Government; and what exactly it has done to remediate the site.

“The ACT government should not accept the land from Defence until the site has been independently assessed as suitable for residential development. ACT residents should not bear the costs of the cleanup or any liability for problems caused by the contamination,” Ms Hunter said.

INITIATIVE | Greening of Government

Monday, September 15th, 2008

THE CONTEXT AND IMPORTANCE OF THIS INITIATIVE
· ACT Government activities and decisions have significant consequences for resource use and the environment, so the government has a significant part to play in making the ACT sustainable

· The Greens believe that for a government to ask citizens and businesses to become greener, the government must lead by example.

· Greening of government is necessary across the country, and the ACT government can accelerate the process by being an example for the rest of Australia to follow

THE AIM OF THIS INITIATIVE
To reduce the ecological footprint of the ACT Government in terms of:

o Reducing greenhouse gas emissions

o Reducing water usage

o Reducing other resource use, such as paper

o Reducing production of waste

THE KEY MEASURES OF THIS INITIATIVE

1. Purchasing 100% of ACT Government electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar generation.

2. Retro-fitting energy and water efficiency technologies into buildings owned by the ACT Government, and working with landlords to retro-fit these technologies in buildings leased by ACT Government.

3. Strong sustainable procurement guidelines covering all ACT Government purchasing decisions.

Environment report overwhelmed by Government gloss

Thursday, August 7th, 2008

ACT Greens MLA Deb Foskey expressed her concerns that the important messages in the Commissioner for the Environment’s State of the Environment report – released today - will be overwhelmed by glossy promotions of ACT Government programs that were a part of it.

“At a time when the Murray River is dying and nearby alpine habitat and local grasslands are threatened, I would hope for strong guidance from the independent Commissioner for the Environment.”

“I was most surprised to see this report almost overwhelmed by one-sided glossy promotions of Government programs that are perhaps steps in the right direction, but small ones.”

“The Commissioner makes the point that as a community with a giant footprint we need to face up to the urgent challenge of living on the planet sustainably. And that we all have a role to play in using less energy, wasting less food, managing our environment and our resources more carefully.”

“But I am yet to discover any calls for the ACT Government to set stronger and more immediate targets (such as intermediate CO2 emissions targets) in order to help us make the changes.

“Nor is there any mention of regulations to make houses more energy efficient, or community wide programs that can help us shift to solar energy or hot water.”

“As an easy to read guide on how we can all do more the report works well. Historically however, the State of the Environment report has been much more valuable as a tool to measure how far we have come and what we have needed to do next” Dr Foskey said.

Get Involved
Events
News
- Green economy still the way forward
  
  The ACT Greens response to today’s mid year budget review is to look to the long term and make sure that any restructuring helps position the ACT economy for the future.
  
  “We recognise that the global economic crisis and its impacts across Australia has put the ACT in a challenging situation, where some years of deficit are inevitable” Mr Rattenbury said today.
  
  “Like other economies, the ACT will need to make some adjustments. And that’s when the timing of initiatives in the Greens-ALP Agreement, and the way we handle priorities, become the issue.”
  
  “Some of the best minor capital works we can get started on, in the February stimulus package, are green projects that quickly create green jobs and industry. Retrofitting energy inefficient homes is one clear example of the right kind of project.”
  
  “We shouldn’t forget how this financial crisis came about: a focus on short-term profit by the richest parts of the global community. Everyone now recognises that it is time for new thinking.
  
  “That’s why the Greens-ALP Agreement is a commitment to building a green economy for the future and to strengthening the community sector.”
  
  “We support taking a calm and sensible approach to the challenge of the next few budgets, but the direction we need to move in is still clear.”
  
  “Finally, we are pleased to see that this new minority government is consulting the ACT community on the 2009/10 budget. The Greens urge people to get involved in that process. And, given the ACT Government’s shrinking income, to think about revenue as well as expenditure” Mr Rattenbury said.
- Breaking the homeless cycle must be the goal
  
  ACT Greens Housing Spokesperson, Amanda Bresnan MLA has called for a one stop shop approach for people at risk of homelessness and more public and community housing.
  
  “The $1.2 billion in the Federal Government’s homelessness package announced this week is very welcome, but it is focussed too much at the crisis end,” Ms Bresnan said today.
  
  “We need a one stop shop, integrating mental health, drug and alcohol, employment, legal and other services. Basically, those necessary services that can help people at risk of homelessness to remain in their homes.
  
  “Mental illness is a factor in as much as 75% of homelessness cases in Australia, but it’s not clear that there is an appropriate recognition of that in this package.
  
  “The other ingredient for longer term housing solutions, is an increase our stock of social, including public, housing.
  
  “But, while some of the Commonwealth money is to increase the supply social housing, we don’t know if any of that will result in additional funding for the ACT.
  
  “The ALP Greens agreement includes a goal of 10% public housing in the ACT. We would like to see some of this Commonwealth investment used to help us reach that goal.
  
  “But we don’t yet know what this really means for the ACT. National initiatives sometimes deliver a lot less in practice than at first appears. And we understand a new funding formula will be introduced next year, which could result in less rather than more money coming to the ACT in any event.
  
  “It’s fantastic to see this kind of commitment and focus from the Federal Government but details that are still missing” Ms Bresnan said.
- No Surrender on Climate Change
  
  On Tuesday the 16th December, over 1000 people attended Greens rallies around Australia to show their disappointment at the Rudd Governments’ emission targets. In Canberra, over 100 people rallied out the front of Parliament House, calling on the Rudd Government to pull down the white flag of surrender on Climate Change.
  
  Senator Christine Milne and MLA Shane Rattenbury spoke to the crowd, calling this the start of the ‘people’s movement on climate change’. Senator Milne said that this rally would be the first of many in the lead up to the 2010 election, which would be a ‘referendum on climate change’.
  
  MLA Shane Rattenbury pointed to the enquiry being conducted in the ACT, which would lead to a legislated target of at least 30% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 in the territory as the sorts of actions that need to be taken across the country to address serious climate change.
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