Budget fails clean green New Zealand

Today’s budget confirms the Government has completely failed to understand that New Zealand’s economic future is intrinsically tied to our environment, says Greenpeace.

“It has ignored not only the global realities of climate change, but also the global green revolution,” said Greenpeace Political Adviser Geoff Keey. “It has officially positioned itself to miss the green wave completely.

“Its approach to climate change is to spend over $600 million dollars of taxpayers’ money on carbon credits to bail out the country’s biggest polluters while spending a measly $300,000 to help the victims of climate change around the world.

“The sooner John Key realises that our environment IS our economy, the sooner New Zealand will start to look like a country living in the 21st century.”

“The Government should have strengthened the ETS instead of raising GST. It’s hypocritical for the Government to say the ETS would be too hard on households and then raise GST.

“Where is the investment in cutting edge clean technology? Where are the environmental taxes to penalise polluters? Where is the investment in New Zealand’s clean green brand?

“John Key needs to look to his UK text friend David Cameron for some ideas.”