In its first budget, Australia鈥檚 new labour government has made good on last November鈥檚 election promise to tackle climate change and the ongoing water crisis.
But although it honoured its commitments to the letter, there were no additional allocations, and, according to critics, the government has not gone far enough to save the huge . The huge river system is drying up under the pressure of Australia鈥檚 epic drought and excessive water extraction for irrigation.
The budget was delivered 13 May by Treasurer Wayne Swan.
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Of the roughly A$300 billion earmarked for spending in this year, $2.3 billion over 5 years goes to measures to reduce carbon emissions.
These include A$37 million over 4 years for an emissions trading scheme due to be introduced by 2010, $500 million over 8 years to develop clean coal technology, and A$500 million over 6 years for renewable energy research.
鈥楽trategic funding鈥�
A 鈥済reen loan programme鈥� providing households with low-interest loans worth up to $10,000 to pay for water tanks, insulation and solar hot water, was funded to the tune of A$300 million over 5 years.
A 10-year programme designed to improve water management 鈥� a major issue in drought-stricken Australia 鈥� received A$12.9 billion. The plan includes ramping up government efforts to buy back water from farmers.
鈥淢oney has been invested in the environment before, but it hasn鈥檛 been properly targeted, and so it has been frittered away. This is top-down, strategic, coordinated funding,鈥� says Barry Brook, director of the at the University of Adelaide.
According to Brook, a key strength of the budget is its emphasis on efficient use of energy, including A$240 million over 4 years to help businesses become more energy efficient, and $14 million over 4 years to improve energy efficiency of electrical appliances.
鈥淭his is a real no-brainer. Energy efficiency initiatives make the most immediate difference, and yet remarkably it has never been addressed in previous budgets,鈥� he says.
But others say that the government had missed an opportunity.
Burning issue
鈥淭he budget honours the government鈥檚 election commitments, but it has not gone nearly far enough to restore the Murray-Darling Basin,鈥� says of Griffith University in Brisbane, and president of the .
Plans to save the basin鈥檚 dwindling rivers include returning 500 gigalitres of water each year to the system, but experts argue that at least three times that amount is needed.
Lowe also took issue with the government鈥檚 attempts to tackle climate change. 鈥淚t has done nothing to phase out subsidies on fossil fuels,鈥� he says. 鈥淔or instance, Australia is one of the few countries that use coal-fired electricity to smelt aluminium 鈥� that is only cost effective because of subsidies.鈥�
Promises to aggressively tackle climate change and other environmental issues during last year鈥檚 election campaign by then opposition leader Kevin Rudd played a key role in winning the election for the Australian Labor Party.
