Greens: Federal Budget a cynical mess and election bribes

Key points:

• Australia needs a plan to tackle the climate emergency through a real investment in renewables

• Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have delivered a few election bribes

• this budget makes absolutely clear Australia doesn’t lack the financial resources to solve the problems the nation faces

The Australian Greens has called out the 2019 budget by saying it is a cynical attempt to buy votes instead of planning for the nation’s looming challenges.

The Greens say what Australia needed was a plan to tackle the climate emergency through a real investment in renewables and a managed transition away from coal and other fossil fuels. As well as a plan to tackle growing inequality and to fund essential services.

They say that Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg have delivered a few election bribes.

Leader of the Australian Greens Dr Richard Di Natale “Josh Frydenberg said in his speech that we owe our children budget discipline. We owe our children a plan for their future, and that should mean tackling climate change through a managed transition away from fossil fuels to a clean, green, jobs-rich renewable economy. By any measure this budget fails to do that,”

“One thing that this budget makes absolutely clear is that we don’t lack the financial resources to solve the problems we face as a nation. What we lack is the political vision,” Di Natale said.

Greens Treasury Spokesperson Peter Whish-Wilson said “Let’s get real: there wouldn’t have been a surplus without the bump in commodities prices, and that’s not in keeping with the long-term trends. This budget doesn’t put us on a trajectory to sustainable growth, it’s just a pea-and-shell game designed to buy some votes,”