budget aim to 'green up' power generation, page-16

Opinion from an Australia Institute email I just received:

"HOW GREEN IS MY BUDGET?

In the 1990s, Paul Keating quipped that you couldn't go into a pet store without hearing a parrot talk about microeconomic reform. These days, sustainability has achieved a similar status; the fact that everyone is now for it is virtual proof that it has become meaningless.

Consider last night's Budget for example. We know that climate change is one of the government's priorities because the Climate Change Minister said so. Unfortunately for ministers who want to talk up their achievements when it comes to budgets, the numbers speak louder than the words and indicate with stark clarity where the real priorities lie. And last night's Budget makes it pretty clear where the power sits around the Cabinet table.

Let's start with the good news—the $3.5 billion clean energy infrastructure fund. Compare this to the $8.4 billion investment in road, rail and ports, much of which will be spent to expedite the passage of our rapidly expanding coal exports on to boats. If you weren't expecting exports to increase, why would you invest in fixing the bottlenecks?

While the $3.5 billion might look modest compared to the amount the government is spending on expanding the transport system, admittedly it's no small beer. However, when we look at where most of the $3.5 billion is going, the priorities of the Rudd Government begin to overtake the claims by the Minister for (preventing) Climate Change: $2 billion for research into clean [sic] coal and $1.5 billion (over four years) for a new solar flagship program (see below).

And let's not forget what wasn't in last night's Budget. No change to the $1.8 billion a year tax concession given to those who drive company cars and no change to the $710 million exemption the airline industry enjoys because it doesn 't have to pay fuel excise.

Budgets are all about priorities and this government's priorities are there for all to see. But only if you ignore the big claims and focus your eye on the big numbers."

And this from the same email...

"WHAT IS THE NEW SOLAR FLAGSHIP PROGRAM?

The new solar flagship program is a scheme designed to establish as many as four solar energy projects generating electricity for the national grid with capacity up to 1,000 megawatts. The budget papers admit that that is merely the equivalent of one coal-fired power station. This project should not be sold as anything other than a modest initiative."

And finally...

"THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

The good: Paid parental leave
The bad: More money for the fossil fuel industry than for the renewable industry
The ugly: Those who missed out—sole parents, the unemployed"