Labor's budget cuts will punish university students, clean energy and single parents.
If you're as disappointed as we are, share this with your friends.
Tonight’s budget is why we’ve got to keep fighting for what matters.
Are you disappointed with Labor's budget cuts?
The Labor party had the opportunity to manage the economy in a way that would care for people and protect our environment.
Instead we got $2.3 billion of university cuts, $1 billion taken from clean energy and the environment and continued punishment for single parents. These aren’t the measures of a caring government.
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Let me be clear – the Greens have been fighting alongside you for the good measures in this budget. Investment in our schools and the NDIS – these are critical.
And because of you the Greens have delivered:
- a $129 million boost to the ABC, and increase of $30 million for SBS;
- the government have been forced into cutting funding for ‘clean-coal’ technologies saving $633 million;
- $24 million to Mental Health Nurses; and
- increase in spending on public transport, $3 billion for Melbourne Metro and $500 million light rail for Perth.
But the Labor Party should have done better.
They’ve spent more time listening to mining companies, the big banks and their factions than you.
This where it gets important.
This budget is bad but Tony Abbott’s extreme agenda would go even further.
That’s why we need to make sure the Greens stay the strongest alternative party in the lead up to this year’s federal election.
I’ll give you some more detail on what the Labor party have done in this budget:
- deep cuts of $627 million to renewable energy and energy efficiency, back-flipping on their commitments to the Clean Energy package made with the Greens. This comes on top of $258 million in cuts to the Biodiversity Fund;
- cuts to the growth in foreign aid that will undermine our engagement with Asia;
- only committed $159 million to help Australia’s most vulnerable experiencing homelessness;
- $10 billion spent on continuing their failed and inhumane offshore detention in their race to the bottom with Abbott to be cruel to refugees.
You can’t trust Labor to stand up for people and the environment.
But you can rely on the Greens for the things that matter.
Yours in solidarity,
Christine Milne
P.S. I will be giving my speech in reply to the budget on Thursday night at 8pm. You'll be able to watch at http://aph.gov.au/live