Hugging polar bears saves tax-payer money

The Inland Revenue Department made a profit from sustainability initiatives last year, cutting energy and travel spending by over one million dollars.

This news comes in the same week the Prime Minister hurled additional abuse at sustainability programmes, labelling them “hug a polar bear” initiatives.

“Inland Revenue has done a fantastic job to both reduce their environmental footprint, and save the tax-payer money”, said Green Party Co-Leader Russel Norman.

Written answers accompanying the Finance and Expenditure Committee’s 2007/8 Financial Review of IRD, tabled Friday, showed that the Department has made an annual saving of over $1,000,000. IRD’s budget for sustainability initiatives in 2008/9 was just $710,000.

The savings quantified in their answers (attached) include:

Annual energy efficiency and conservation savings $337,000
Annual air travel savings (extrapolated from a six month figure) $600,000
Annual paper savings $100,000
Annual petrol savings $4,510

“The Prime Minister should ‘get with the sustainable programme’, as National Party MP Craig Foss quipped at the Select Committee receiving the IRD report”, said Dr Norman.

“The IRD savings show that environmental efficiency goes hand-in-hand with economic efficiency.

“The Government should roll out these programmes across the whole public sector and save more money, as well as protect our multi-billion dollar ‘clean green brand’.”

Answering a written question from Dr Norman, the Minister for the Environment also revealed on Friday that ‘savings of $4.7 million have been achieved across a range of areas’ as a result of the now dumped Govt3 sustainability programmes.

Dr Norman said, “This is an admission that the now-dumped programme had been a success, and this is highly embarrassing for the Government.”

The Select Committee wrote: “We note that the investment in energy-saving measures is projected to have a relatively quick pay-back.”

Dr Norman said, “Not only has the IRD saved more money than it has spent on sustainability, some of this cost is one-off, whereas the savings will keep coming in year after year.

“The pay-back will save the tax-payer millions over time, and the environment as well – reducing the rubbish in our dumps, the emissions in our atmosphere, and even the oil imports, which contribute to our current account deficit.”

“It may just help the polar bears too – although it seems National’s philanthropy doesn’t extend to our Arctic cousins.

“I’m surprised the National-led Government didn’t cancel the extremely popular Earth Hour celebration on Saturday - it too could help polar bears in a small way”, Dr Norman concluded.

Notes:

Written answers (attached) show a total of $710,000 was budgeted for sustainability iniatives. These was mistakenly reported as $1.2 million in the Committee’s report.
Polar bears, Ursus maritimus, are classified on the endangered species Red List as “vulnerable”, with a decreasing population primarily caused by climate change. Hugging a polar bear is likely to result in the quick but grisly demise of the hugger. Eight people have been killed by polar bears in Canada in the past 30 years.

References:
IRD Financial Review - http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/SC/Reports/
Written Question 01362 (2009) - http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Debates/QWA/