Greens candidate, Malcolm McKelvie says Labor has dropped the ball on climate change. Labor's budget is rewarding the carbon polluters and wiping out the solar industry.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd must reverse the budget gaffe which has devastated solar power businesses around Australia. A Yarragon based solar power supplier servicing the whole state estimates their business will suffer an 80% decline in grid interactive system installations. The effect is drastic and contrary to the stated policy of the government.

"This is a stunning solar stuff up for Labor's first budget. Australianvoters expected the Rudd government to tackle climate change. Instead,this was an Exocet missile into a key industry for reducing greenhousegas emissions. The removal of the rebate for households earning morethan $100,000 per annum was not thought through.

If either Peter Garrett or Penny Wong were consulted or backed thisabsurd move, they should hang their heads in shame. Their silence hasbeen deafening”, Malcolm McKelvie said.

This episode, along with a string of other greenhouse worsening budgetoutcomes, shows the Rudd government is inept when it comes to tacklingthe need for urgent action on climate change.  

However, Brendan Nelson's two billion dollar plan to reduce petrolexcise by 5 cents a litre is in the same category; perverse policy in anage of huge climate change problems.