Press Release : Changes To Commonwealth Environmental Programs

The Australian Government today announced a series of changes, to the administration of the environmental programs to boost safety and improve environmental performance.

These changes are aimed at boosting safety for households and safety for the workers whose employment is funded by these important environmental programs.

Significant Changes to Green Loans Program

The Government will help over an additional 600,000 Australian households tackle climate change through a re-designed and extended Green Loans program.

That is on top of the 360,000 assessments already available under the program, of which more than 270,000 have already been booked nationwide.

The re-design of the program will include:

• the discontinuation of the less popular loans component next month to provide for the significant boost to assessment availability;

• a new cap of 5000 assessors, allowing up to an extra 1200 trained assessors to contract with the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts;

• a weekly cap of 15,000 assessment bookings and a daily and weekly cap per assessor of three and five respectively to ensure greater quality and a more even distribution of work for assessors right around the nation;

• changed booking arrangements allowing only individual assessors to make bookings.

These new arrangements will apply to the end of 2010.

To learn more, read the Significant Changes To Commonwealth Environmental Programs press release to see how this affects Green Loans Assessors.

Senator Christine Milne's comments on the changes can be found here.

Information is edited / supplied by GLP Assessor at 'http://glpassessor.blogspot.com'.

Melbourne Or Sydney Based Assessor To Speak To Media

WANTED Melbourne or Sydney based Assessor!

Action is needed now! Are you a Melbourne or Sydney based assessor, willing to talk to the media, in person or anonymously?

If you are, please contact the office of Senator Milne as soon as possible, on 03 6224 8899.

The following exert is taken from an email, received from the Office Of Senator Milne.

Finding solutions to fix the Green Loans program must now become a key focus. Christine and the Greens are of the firm view, that the Green Loans program is too important to be let fail. Not least because the impacts on thousands of Australians like you, are far too severe to be simply ignored.

You can see Christine’s press release on the internet here at, http://bit.ly/savetheglp.

Many of you have taken the time to send through possible solutions, which I am now working through to collate them as fast as I can. But the most effective solutions, will be ones that have the credibility and authority of you, as assessors behind them as a group. I know there is a poll on the ABSA website suggesting options, and some other threads discussing possibilities. Now is the time for one of you, or a small group of you, to put your hand up and help pull it all together.

Help spread this message, to as many assessors as possible.

THE ACTION PLAN IS. To work together to discuss possible solutions, and send us a set of options, endorsed by as many of you as possible. That way we can put your group plan to the government. Forward you email to the Office Of Senator Milne.

This information is edited and supplied by GLP Assessor at 'http://glpassessor.blogspot.com'.

Green Loans Scheme Too Important To Fail

Media Release | Spokesperson Christine Milne

Thursday 11th February 2010, 3:31pm

Energy Efficiency

The Green Loans Scheme is a critically important step in building Australia's green economy, creating jobs for the future and saving householders money. It is too important to be allowed to fail.

Following the his moves to fix problems the insulation roll-out over recent days, Miniter Garrett must now urgently move to fix the problems besetting the Green Loans Scheme.

The Green Loans scheme is an excellent idea gone badly awry, but it can be fixed if the Minister turns his attention to it," Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne said.

The Prime Minister must get personally involved in order to fix this debacle which, alongside the insulation roll-out and the rooftop solar bungling, is costing lives and livelihoods across the country.

I am offering to work with the industry bodies, small business people, concerned individuals and the government to work out the best and most appropriate long term fix.

It is clear that Mr Garrett has to immediately instruct his department to roll out an up-to-scratch nationally accredited training program.

He must give the call centre adequate funding to operate effectively and ensure that the online booking system is brought online.

Given the fabulous community demand, he must adequately fund the program to match that demand.

And he must make sure that the program is fair, ensuring that no one company or group has greater access to bookings than any other.

There are big unanswered questions as to how this can be made to work, but with the right will I am convinced it can.

The fabulous project of greening Australia's homes and jobs is too important to be allowed to fail."

Senator Milne was joined today at Parliament by two assessors from the Canberra community, Rob May and Robert Sanchez, both of who are calling for the government to urgently fix the Green Loans program.

This information is supplied by GLP Assessor at 'http://glpassessor.blogspot.com'.