Funding green groups to shut us down.

Gillard has the gaul to expect taxpayers to fork out millions for an ‘information campaign’ to counter the misinformation as she calls it of those individuals and groups who oppose her plan for a disastrous carbon tax. If past form is any guide we can expect at least 20-30 million to come out of our pockets to fund her politically driven ad campaign.

Now it has become clear that we have also funded the environmental groups that are pushing this line to the tune of $10 million over five years. The Australian has given credit to the Institute of Public Affairs for a ‘joint effort’ however the gist of the article is mainly IPA.

The ACF has been one of the largest recipients with $2.9m over the past five years, while Environment Victoria has topped $4m. Environmental Defenders offices in various states have received at least $1.2m. The Wilderness Society ($125,000) and Friends of the Earth ($65,000) have won smaller grants.

IPA director John Roskam said taxpayers were now funding third-party political activity. "Many environmental groups are now running what are basically political campaigns financed by state and federal government departments," Mr. Roskam said.

The funded groups have supported community activism such as the "walks against warming" and offer advice to people on how to mount legal challenges against development. Some constantly campaign against industries, in particular the coal mining and coal generation industries.

Some of this money goes to groups who engage in political campaigning. The Total Environment Centre has been particularly active in the NSW election campaign claiming that opposition policies are an "environmental and planning disaster". They also insist that the Coalition's plans for Sydney's urban sprawl would "worsen global warming".

This is conflict of interest bordering on corruption as they have received $450,000 from the NSW government, which they are using in part to support the Labor Party who gave them the money.

In essence, what we have is governments paying taxpayers money to fund organizations that are supporting their own political agendas.

Groups like these who claim to act in the public interest should be supported by voluntary donations from the public. There is absolutely no excuse for such groups to be sucking on the public teat. If they are genuinely acting to promote the interests of the public at large then members of that public would support them as long as they remain within the bounds that those members expect from them. Government funding allows them to pursue more radical agendas without the need to be responsible.

Statements like those of Friends of the Earth, that it is vital that taxpayers funded them to ‘hold governments and corporations to account’ are elitist and designed to create the situation where they don’t have to be accountable to the public themselves.