A proposed increase in film production tax offsets would bring tremendous benefits to the economy and support Australian culture if included in tomorrow’s budget, the Australian Greens said today.

The Greens have long been supportive of calls from the film industry to increase the Location and Post, Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) tax offsets from 15% of qualifying production spend to 30% in order to once again compete to attract global investment.

“Production of a handful of major blockbuster films here in Australia injects hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy and helps us keep highly skilled jobs and top notch infrastructure in the country,” Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said. (more…)

The Australian Greens have reaffirmed their opposition to the industrialisation of WA’s pristine Kimberley coast.

“The Australian Greens do not believe that James Price Point is an appropriate site for this gas factory,” Senator Rachel Siewert said today.

“We are concerned by the approach taken by the WA Government, which effectively asks the Traditional Owners to approve the project in exchange for the health, housing and job prospects that they are already entitled to as members of the community.

“The traditional owners should benefit from any gas extracted from this region, but that does not require the processing hub to locate at James Price Point. (more…)

Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown today released polling results that show overwhelming support for redirecting the government’s $11 billion a
year hand-out to fossil fuel companies to renewable energy research and development.

“Taxpayers’ money is being used to support polluters, including coal and oil companies. Building a cleaner, safer, healthier 21st century economy means we need to cut pollution and focus on developing renewable energy, rather than prop up the carbon-intensive past,” Senator Brown said. (more…)

The Australian Greens have today called on the Federal government to immediately release all children from detention centres on the mainland and Christmas island.

The party said it was time for Australia’s elected leaders to put the mental health of asylum seeker children first, by ensuring all minors were placed into community care while their applications and those of their families were assessed.

“There are more than 1,000 children in detention, and while the Immigration Minister says some will be released by the end of next month, he’s given no indication about what happens after that deadline,” Greens Immigration Spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said today in Melbourne.

“There is a practical, long-term solution to the government’s problems, if the government wants to take it. We have a workable alternative which would ensure no children are detained, thereby lessening damage to their mental health and development.

“This week we witnessed the Gillard government move toward resurrecting the failed Pacific solution of the former Howard government. (more…)

In his unseemly rush to destroy the Solar Bonus Scheme, NSW Energy Minister Chris Hartcher may have acted unlawfully and given households wanting to connect roof top panels to the electricity grid cause for a class action suit, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye. (’Solar shutdown’s legality likely to face challenge‘ Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May).

Dr Kaye said: “When the Minister suspended the scheme in late April he failed to publish a notice in the government gazette and the scheme had not reached the required 300 MW of installed capacity.

“Chris Hartcher is trying to govern by media release. Households still have a legislated right to connect panels to the grid and  to receive the 20 cents per kilowatt-hour for the energy they produce. (more…)

Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis is defying the tide of history by backing the dangerous and declining nuclear industry, say the Australian Greens.

The Greens nuclear affairs spokesperson, Senator for Western Australia Scott Ludlam, said all signs indicated Mr du Plessis was off the mark in his advocacy of nuclear power.

“This is commercial self-interest masquerading as energy policy. Those calling for nuclear power ignore the reality of what is happening around the world: every year for the last 15 years the growth in renewable energy’s capacity has outstripped the growth in nuclear capacity, and last year investment in renewable energy over-took investment in nuclear and fossil fuelled energy combined.

“The Rubicon has been crossed for nuclear power - it is a dying industry and there is no turning back. In 2010 world-wide cumulative installed capacity from wind turbines, biomass, waste-to-energy and solar power surpassed installed nuclear capacity for the first time in history.

“In the United States of America - the world’s largest economy - the share of renewables in new capacity additions boomed from two percent in 2004 to 55 percent in 2009, with no new nuclear capacity added in that time.

“Meanwhile, even before the March Fukushima disaster, investors and insurers in the US, for example, could not be coaxed to back nuclear power.” (more…)

Federal Member for Melbourne Adam Bandt said this week’s announcements of further record profits by the big banks also meant more needed to be done now to curb excessive profits and that he would amend his bank bill to ban fees for bank balance inquiries at ATMs.

The National Australia Bank’s announced a first half profit rise 15.9 % today following rises of 38% by the ANZ and Westpac earlier in the week.

“Since the global financial crisis when the Australian government backed the banks with a taxpayer guarantee, the big four banks have posted over
$40 million in after tax profits.

“These are enormous profits, yet the banks still claim to be doing it hard. (more…)