Climate Change Minister Penny Wong has blundered in backing the Brumby government's Bass Coast desalination plant, Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.
"Minister Wong has said she is too busy to visit the beautiful site for this huge industrial implant, and it shows. She should be advocating a roll-out of water tanks to collect rainfall across Melbourne's metropolitan area, rather than this unnecessary desalination factory, which the locals so trenchantly oppose," Senator Brown said.

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"And forests will be crucial" - Brown
The Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong, is on the right track, but has a lot further to go to reorient Australia's economy and society to tackle global warming, Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said today.
"Minister Wong's speech today is on the right track, but her words are at odds with the government's actions. For example, Peter Garrett's solar rebate fiasco," Senator Brown said.
But post-Garnaut report the real five-way test for government action will be:

The failure of environment ministers to take action on plastic bags and recycling underscores their hopeless capture by the big food and beverage corporations, Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said today.
 
"This is a plastic-wrapped, recycled failure to take action. With the exception of South Australia, it is no different to repeated failures to take action by Howard-era ministers for the environment," Senator Brown said.
 

Greens Leader Bob Brown today renewed the Greens' support for a total ban on plastic bags.
 
"Environment Minister Peter Garrett has failed to articulate a timetable or a plan to phase out plastic bag use and a leaked federal government report indicates that plastic bag use rose by almost 1 billion bags in 2007," Senator Brown said.
 

The nation's first Minister for Climate Change ducked the questions put to her on the issue by Greens Leader Bob Brown today.
 
Senator Wong avoided committing to urgently ending import tariff concessions for gas-guzzling Humvees and 4WDs over fuel efficient cars. She made no direct commitment to greening the government car fleet.
 

Greens Leader Bob Brown says the fragile Tarkine rainforest wilderness in North-West Tasmania should be protected from a planned two-lane highway proposed by Forestry Tasmania, using taxpayers' money. (pg 1. The Australian)
 
"This is a pointy-headed project by a loggers' agency wanting to dress up its appalling image for forest and wildlife habitat destruction right across Tasmania," Senator Brown said.
 

Greens leader Bob Brown says that climate change is much higher on the public agenda than with either major political party.
 
"The Howard' government's neglect of this huge and threatening issue now threatens themselves. The first step to tackling climate change is to change the government 13 days from now," Senator Brown said.
 

Greens Leader Bob Brown has written to Gunns' CEO John Gay, to meet Gunns' claim that the Greens will not discuss the impact on forests and pollution of Bass Strait threatened by the proposed pulp mill in the Tamar Valley (see advertisements in Tasmanian newspapers today).
 
"The Greens certainly will discuss Gunns' 'inconvenient facts'. I have asked John Gay to have the gumption to debate the issue publicly before the federal election on November the 24th," Senator Brown said.
 

Opinion piece from the UK Guardian newspaper by Senator Bob Brown about the proposed Gunns pulp mill.