Fund Our Future – Not Gas.

The Federal Government’s May 11 budget will detail how billions will be spent on its COVID economic recovery. We already know from last year’s publicity that this will be a “gas-led” recovery which will see taxpayer funds poured into its National Gas Infrastructure Plan (NGIP) which aims to lock in for decades an expansion in the use of this polluting energy source at a time when we should be urgently phasing out fossil fuel use.

Last year, when the gas heavyweights were persuading PM Morrison about the wonders of gas, there were many others across the nation urging a more sustainable recovery path that would provide greater long -term benefits to the community as a whole.

I want the Government to fund our future – not gas.

Firstly, I would like to see the Government commit to dealing effectively with the climate crisis we – as well as the rest of the world – are facing. This would involve a number of related actions including ditching the NGIP, dropping funding of investigations into pie in the sky projects like carbon capture and storage, committing to nett zero emissions by 2050 and upgrading the nation’s 2030 emissions targets – and much more.

Secondly, I would like to see a vast improvement in biodiversity protection at the federal level. This should include the establishment of a well- funded, independent environment authority as recommended by Graeme Samuel in his recent inquiry into the EPBC Act. It could also include funding for effective species recovery plans, and a scheme for stewardship payments to landholders for retention of native vegetation – and much more.

The budget should also include measures to make Australia a fairer nation – for all its citizens. This should include a greater increase to Newstart, greatly improved outcomes for First Australians, a vastly

improved aged care system, and measures to address employment casualisation and under-employment which were shown to be so problematic during COVID.

And we need an effective Federal ICAC to hold politicians and bureaucrats to account.

What would you like to see in the budget?

Leonie Blain