Government subsidies to green groups must end

Sadly, examples of contradictory policy settings within government are not particularly hard to find. In fact, the two-faced nature of government policy priorities in this space is honeycombed throughout every single environment related portfolio.

What is evident from the IPA's Report is that the former Victorian and NSW Governments', and the current Federal Government, have each failed to enforce suitable checks and balances over the allocations of government funds to third party groups.

In each case, third party funding arrangements have been exposed as being poorly targeted, politically biased, weakly monitored and operationally irrelevant in terms of serving a credible function of government.

Additionally, the growth of these funding abuses represents a worrying trend in the expansion of a dangerous duopoly between green groups and government.

In order to remedy the situation, the current Victorian, NSW and Federal Governments' should each commence an extensive review of their third party funding practices. The goal of this effort should be to restore the community's faith, stop the reckless waste, and put to an end the abuse of public funds.

Australian taxpayers, overtaxed as they already are, deserve and expect nothing less.