The Gillard government’s 2013 budget was bad news for Australia’s efforts to address climate change and shift towards renewable energy sources.
In an attempt to minimise the size of the deficit, Treasurer Wayne Swan has taken the axe to range of programs seen as expendable. In yet another display of poor judgement, the Gillard government decided to ‘defer’ $370 million worth of funding for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). The decision will hamper ARENA efforts to accelerate research, development and deployment of new clean energy technologies.
The Melbourne Energy Institute‘s prolific analyst, Dylan McConnell, made the following assessment of the Labor government’s 2013 budget.

Published by The Conversation. View the original article here.
By Dylan McConnell, research fellow at the University of Melbourne’s Energy Institute.
The decision to link the Australia’s carbon price to the European Union emissions trading scheme has wiped A$6 billion from the federal budget. Treasurer Wayne Swan has dealt with that loss of revenue by reducing industry assistance to deal with the carbon price – a reasonable move – but he has also deferred funding for important renewable energy development. Continue reading “Budget defers renewable energy development when it’s needed most”