GREG HUNT WINS AWARD, AUSTRALIANS LEFT SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS

Media Release

Mark Butler MP.

Shadow Minister for Environment
 Climate Change and Water

Date:  10 February 2016

Greg Hunt was awarded with the title of “Best Minister in the World” overnight at the World Government Summit and we can’t work out why.

He received the award for his protection of the Great Barrier Reef and for playing a crucial role in lowering carbon emissions in Australia - but he hasn’t done either.

Minister Hunt had his approval of Abbot Point overturned for failing to consider endangered species and he suspended protection of 1.3 million square km of marine parks so he could commence a review that Labor had already done.

While emissions fell under Labor, Greg Hunt did not keep them in decline, they have gone up since he became Environment Minister. On Monday, the Department of Environment confirmed that emissions are rising and that emissions will not be reduced by 5 per cent by 2020 like Mr Hunt has promised.

Mr Hunt’s “achievements”:

·         Drop in renewable energy investments

·         Rise in carbon pollution

·         Appointment of the Wind Farm Commissioner, who is being paid
          $205,000 a year for the part time gig

·         Creation of an expensive, ineffective Emissions Reduction Fund

·         Attempt to delist 74,000 hectares of World Heritage forests in Tasmania

·         Attempt to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and the 

          Australian Renewable Energy Agency

None of this is worth celebrating.