'Polar Bear' Ministry cuts expected tomorrow

The Green Party expects the Government’s ‘polar bear hunt’ to close in for the kill at the Ministry for the Environment tomorrow, culling initiatives that have saved the taxpayer money.

Ministry for the Environment staff have been called to a presentation Tuesday afternoon at Environment House to hear the final restructuring plans.

“While global leaders roll out Green New Deal initiatives to generate jobs and address climate change at the same time, our Prime Minister seems intent on swimming against the tide,” said Green Party Co-Leader Dr Russel Norman.

“The Government’s plans to cut sustainability programmes that have helped the environment and the tax-payer do not reflect well on this Government’s so-called ‘Blue-Green’ agenda."

Recently, the Prime Minister called the sustainability programmes “hug a polar bear” initiatives; meanwhile his own Environment Minister admitted in a parliamentary question that the now-culled Govt3 sustainability programmes had resulted in savings of $4.7 million.

Dr Norman said, “The financial review of the Inland Revenue Department revealed that it made a profit from Govt3 sustainability initiatives last year, cutting energy and travel spending by over one million dollars.

“The IRD savings show that environmental efficiency goes hand-in-hand with economic efficiency, benefiting the tax-payer and the environment for years to come.

“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’.”

Dr Norman concluded, “Tomorrow’s presentation will confirm that sustainability initiatives have been restructured into extinction, following hard on the heels of the Finance Minister deflating the tyres on the Government’s sole ‘environmental’ Job Summit initiative, the national cycleway.”