Coalition to appoint environment commissioner
Updated
Environment spokesman Greg Hunt says the Coalition will appoint an independent commissioner to oversee all major environmental programs. (ABC)
The Coalition has announced it will appoint an independent commissioner to oversee all major environmental programs.
Environment spokesman Greg Hunt says the position was made necessary by the Government's handling of its insulation scheme, which was rolled up early after widespread rorting and house fires.
"An independent environment probity commissioner would have two tasks. [Firstly] to independently review the design of major expenditure in the environment and climate portfolio, to make sure that the design is right," he said.
"Secondly they will also have responsibility for reviewing the operation on an ongoing basis of major environmental expenditure."
Mr Hunt said while the Opposition would appoint a royal commission to the Government's insulation scheme, the environment commissioner would have retrospective powers.
"We have said that we would hold a royal commission into the failed and catastrophic home insulation program because of the degree of tragedy, the risk to home owners and the waste of $1 billion," he said.
"Beyond that this is a measure for new programs to make sure that neither side of government can be in a position to repeat the tragedy and the waste of the pink batts program.
"We see this is a general measure to review the design and to review the operation of all major environmental expenditure program."
He said the commissioner would be funded from within the existing Environment Department's budget, and called on the Government to support the program.
Tit for tat
Mr Hunt made the announcement during a debate with Climate Change Minister Penny Wong on ABC TV's 7.30 Report.
The pair locked horns over which side of politics had the more effective climate change policy.
Senator Wong questioned the Coalition's claims its direct action policy would reduce carbon emissions by 5 per cent at a cost of $3.2 billion and called on the Coalition to submit its costings to the Charter of Budget Honesty.
"The clear advice that we have made public from the same people who advised John Howard, is that under Mr Abbott and Mr Hunt's policy, with the amount of money they've budgeted, we would see emissions in this country rise by 13 per cent by 2020," she said.
"The true cost of Mr Abbott's policy, if he were to in fact achieve the 5 per cent reduction, is around $27 billion of tax payers money being spent out to 2020."
But Mr Hunt returned fire, dismissing Labor's costings as dodgy, and said the Government's scheme would result in higher energy prices.
"Their proposal for the future is to put in place a citizens' lottery to determine whether or not we will have a particular climate policy," he said
"But the intention is to impose a 20 per cent increase on electricity prices for mums and dads. That's the principal vehicle for the future, we reject that."
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