Senator Christine Milne

Peter Garrett must keep the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM)
open next year to ensure continuing appropriate training for Australia's
top young classical musicians while any long-term solution is reached,
the Australian Greens said today.

The Australian Institute of Musical Performance as proposed by Minister

The Rudd Government must act decisively to save the jobs of the 200
highly skilled solar cell manufacturers that will be lost with the
closure of BP Solar's plant in Sydney, the Australian Greens said today.

"Prime Minister Rudd faces a defining moment today in convincing
Australians that he cares about climate change and the green jobs

Australian Greens Deputy Leader and climate change spokesperson, Senator
Christine Milne, said:

"The best climate change strategy for rural and regional Australia is in
learning how to keep more carbon in the soils - reducing our climate
impact and building resilience to the warming that we've already caused.

Tasmania's first PET scanner, a vital diagnostic tool that can
dramatically improve treatment for cancer patients, begins operation
today, but still only some cancer patients will be able to access it.

Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, has been
fighting for this critical medical service for Tasmania since taking her

The Australian Greens will not commit to supporting the Horse Disease
Response Levy until draft regulations have been released clarifying what
impact the levy will have on community and recreational owners and
riders.

The report of the Senate Inquiry into the levy was tabled today, with
the Government majority concluding that "it is too early to condemn the

Mandatory Home Builders' Warranty Insurance is junk insurance and should be replaced by a national system based on the Queensland model, the Australian Greens said today.

A Senate Inquiry established by Senator Milne into this insurance scheme published its findings today, with the Government and Opposition inexplicably supporting continuation of the existing scheme. Senator

The Greens and Liberals moved a joint motion in the Senate today calling on the Rudd Government to immediately reinstate 2008-09 funding for the Australian National Academy of Music, to ensure that the unique school stays open next year.

Big Coal's latest rearguard action to rescue its reputation, re-branding as "NewGenCoal", will fail as surely as its "clean coal" furphy failed, the Greens said today.

The Australian Coal Association today launched a new branding exercise, acknowledging that the attempt to convince Australians that there is such a thing as 'clean coal' has failed.

"Coal, by any other name, is on the nose," said Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Climate Change Spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne.

The Greens are calling on Prime Minister Rudd to rethink renewable energy after a weak Government report concluded that a 'feed-in tariff' was a good idea but should not be supported.

The Australian Greens today welcomed the Rudd Government's first concrete acknowledgement that the path to economic recovery lies through a 'Green New Deal', but much more needs to be done.

"The Rudd Government deserves congratulations for recognising that it is only by putting Australia's jobs and industry onto a greener footing that we will come through the global financial crisis stronger and better prepared for the challenges that lie ahead," said Australian Greens Deputy Leader and Climate Change Spokesperson, Senator Christine Milne.