By Rich Bowden:

Environmental group the Conservation Council of WA has criticised the State Government for its lack of support for the environment in its second state budget.

Piers Verstegen, Conservation Council Director said the lack of funding for the environment will have severe consequences.

“This budget continues the trend of running our environmental regulators on the smell of an oily rag,” he said.

“The inevitable consequence of this will be increasing impacts on our environment, increased threats to our biodiversity and health, and carbon pollution skyrocketing out of control in WA.”

However Premier Colin Barnett said the budget was a “no frills” budget, which will attempt to lock in gains from the early stages of recovery from the global financial crisis.

“[We are] moving away from the effects of the global financial crisis into the early stages of recovery,” he said.

With the economy in the resource-rich state expected to grow by 3.75 per cent this financial year, and increase to 4.5 per cent in 2010 to 2011, the State Government has invested a billion dollars into the state’s infrastructure.

However Mr Verstegen said this investment will do nothing to halt the problem of Western Australia’s growing carbon emissions.

“It is also extremely concerning that the budget fails to account for the massive economic liability associated with Western Australia’s rapidly increasing carbon pollution.

“The EPA have advised that carbon pollution is likely to increase by 40% in the next few years, and yet this budget does not account for the liability that will be incurred in Western Australia when a price on carbon is inevitably introduced.

“Overall, this is a budget that is badly lacking in resources for environmental protection, and heavily skewed towards subsidising the growth in a dirty polluting energy economy for Western Australia.

“Financially the budget is in surplus, but that fails to account for the massive environmental and economic liability that will be transferred to future generations of Western Australians by the Barnett Government.”

Mr Barnett, who is acting Treasurer, delivered a surplus of $290 million in his budget, yet was attacked for allowing big price hikes in electricity and water. The average West Australian household will pay an extra $370 per year following the budget.

However Mr Barnett said he was happy with the outcome of the budget.

“I am very proud of these results because they signal our confidence going forward, reduce our reliance on debt and mean we can maintain the state’s triple-A credit rating,” he told parliament.

Tags: colin barnett budget, conservation council of wa, wa budget