ENVIRONMENT Victoria has welcomed the Auditor General\u2019s report on the landfill levy, and said the findings showed the levy could be used to deal with Victoria\u2019s growing waste crisis and tackle climate change.<\/p>\n
The levy puts a price on every tonne of waste that is sent to landfill, and the money raised is used to provide income for Victoria\u2019s Sustainability Fund, which was set up to deliver programs that improve waste management and reduce carbon emissions.<\/p>\n
The Auditor General\u2019s report, released last week, reveals that since 2005 about $1.7 billion has been collected by the levy, with $562 million being fed into the Sustainability Fund, but until recently this revenue has not been used for its intended purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is outrageous that successive governments have just been sitting on half a billion dollars specifically earmarked to improve sustainability in Victoria,\u201d Environment Victoria campaigns manager Dr Nicholas Aberle said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first time in years that the Sustainability Fund has been used for its intended purpose and not to simply prop up the budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile it\u2019s heartening that the Andrews government is starting to spend the fund, we need to significantly scale up expenditure on programs that improve waste management and cut carbon pollution.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re pleased to see our state government starting to is stepping up and finally use the Sustainability Fund in the way it was intended \u2013 to tackle issues such as waste management and climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said Victoria had taken some encouraging first steps to improve recycling, but there was still much more to be done \u201cand we’ve got the money to do it\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time for treasurer Tim Pallas to open his wallet and start investing in solutions that will solve our waste crisis, tackle climate change and create sustainable jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know Victorians want a sustainable future for our state and ahead of the November election we\u2019ll be making sure that sustainability, the environment and climate change are front-of-mind issues for political parties vying for votes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ENVIRONMENT Victoria has welcomed the Auditor General\u2019s report on the landfill levy, and said the findings showed the levy could be used to deal with Victoria\u2019s growing waste crisis and tackle climate change. The levy puts a price on every tonne of waste that is sent to landfill, and the money raised is used to […]<\/p>\n