From the Conservation Council of the ACT:
ACT Budget 2016-17
We went to the 2016-17 ACT Budget community sector lock-up and have had a preliminary look at some areas of the Budget along with iscussions with officials.
The Budget has more good news for local action on climate change with $6.5 million allocated for climate change resilience and reinforcing the commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2020 and zero net emissions by 2050 – although we still say the ACT should be aiming for zero net emissions by 2040.
We are not so happy with the treatment of weeds funding. While we welcome the increase in funding for weeds management and pest animals it is still not enough: we need over $2 million for weeds and $500,000 for pest animals. It is very disappointing that the increase is only for one year. Effective management of pest plants and animals needs adequate funding and ongoing certainty.
We will continue to look at the Budget and look at its outcomes for environmental issues and report further in the future.