The Federal Government has announced it will axe its Green Start program, which was to provide assistance for a range of energy efficiency measures primarily for low-income Australian households.
Minister for Climate Change, Greg Combet, said the program, which was to have replaced the government’s watered-down Green Loans scheme by the end of 2010, could “not be implemented with satisfactory mitigation of risk.”
“One of the major risks associated with Round 1 of the Green Start program was a reliance on poor quality data on assessments collected under the Green Loans program. The Department found that these risks could not be mitigated to a satisfactory extent. This advice has informed the Government’s decision not to proceed with the program,” Mr Combet said.
Mr Combet said that the current “Green Loans” program will finish on February 28, 2011 – however, contrary to what the name suggests; the program no longer offers interest-free and low interest loans for solar power and other energy efficiency measures and hasn’t done so since February.
“The Government remains committed to supporting effective energy efficiency measures and remains committed to assisting households — particularly low income households — to improve their energy efficiency, reduce their carbon footprint and make savings on their energy costs,” Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Mr Dreyfus said.
The $30 million earmarked for the scrapped Green Start scheme will be funnelled back into professional development for accredited home sustainability assessors. This includes a $15 million professional development scheme to assist accredited assessors further develop their professional skills and credentials.
