Budget Smokescreen for Slash & Burn

As the Government signalled more environmental neglect today, Green Party Co-leader Russel Norman called on National for honesty.

 

National’s Environment Minister Nick Smith plans to cut jobs and programmes at the Ministry for the Environment and is blaming a budget shortfall for the next fiscal year.  But analysis of the estimated budget shows that Smith’s logic is shaky, Dr Norman said. 

 

“National is being misleading and mis-representing the Ministry for the Environment’s budget as an excuse to slash and burn,” said Dr Norman.  “If they want to dismantle the Ministry, at least be honest about it so New Zealanders can look at the argument on its merits.”

 

“The Ministry for the Environment had a number of one-off or short-term initiatives that were in this year’s budget.  An example is clean up of contaminated sites like the Tui mine.  These items are not in next year’s estimated budget and hence the budget drops. 

 

“Dr Smith seems to want to use budget fluctuations as an excuse for deep cuts at the Ministry which he can conveniently blame on Labour and the economic downturn. He is using the fluctuations as cover for cutting the Ministry for the Environment.”

 

The Ministry’s budget is set to drop from approximately $85 million this year to $65 million in 2009/2010 as a number of environmental initiatives end.  The Tui mine clean up, for example, accounted for a one-off expense of $8 million in the 2008/2009 budget.

 

At the same time as Dr Smith is proposing to cut staff, his government is adding to the bureaucratic burden on the Ministry by radically changing the Resource Management Act as well as re-structuring the Ministry, noted Dr Norman.

 

“The Government talks about streamlining and efficiency which are lovely words to hide an ugly truth,” said Dr Norman.  “John Key’s Government has tied up the Environment Ministry with the busy work of bureaucratic restructuring and is now signalling its intention to cut jobs and programs.  Together with the planned changes to the Resource Management Act it is a major step backwards in terms of how New Zealand looks after its greatest assets.”