Green Army holds our young people and land in equal contempt
Greens Deputy Leader, Adam Bandt MP, today said that the Abbott Government’s Green Army shows that it holds our young people and our land, sea and air in equal contempt.
“Tony Abbott’s proposed so-called Green Army won’t work and it waters down the workplace protections for participants that all other workers in Australia enjoy,” said Mr Bandt.
“Only Tony Abbott could create a 'workforce' where the workers aren't legally workers and have no workplace rights.
“If a Green Army supervisor and a worker under their command get injured while wielding a pick or building a lookout, the supervisor will have the same safety and compensation protections as every other Australian worker - but the young participant won't.
“The existing $1bn biodiversity fund set up in the last Parliament and funded by the country’s biggest polluters is the best way to help encourage people on the land to maintain and improve it.
“The Green Army isn’t about protecting the land because, if it was, Tony Abbott would retain the biodiversity fund, not scrap it.
“Green Army is simply a cynical exercise in institutional greenwashing and shows that the Abbott Government holds our young people and our land, sea and air in equal contempt,” said Mr Bandt.
VIDEO: Watch Adam dissect the Tony Abbott's Green Army greenwash