Hobart has a golden opportunity, with Greens in key ministerial positions, to become Australia's most sustainable city, the Australian Greens said today.

Hobart is listed as sixth most sustainable city in Australia in the Australian Conservation Foundation's ranking of Australia's 20 largest cities released today. The city performs well on air quality, ecological footprint, density and affordability, but drags its heels badly on transport, green building, water, climate change and food production.

The Greens have congratulated the City of Perth for its far-sighted vision for the city, with its emphasis on light rail, pedestrians and public open space – but they warn that the State Government has so far failed to match actions with rhetoric on light rail.

“I was pleased to hear the WA Planning Minister today say he supported light rail in principle – but I was also extremely puzzled, given so far this Government has been siphoning money away from the expansion of public transport and into roads,” WA Greens Transport Spokesperson, Alison Xamon MLC, said.

The Greens would only agree to a tax being imposed on motorists to reduce congestion in Perth and other Australian cities if public transport, cycling and walking facilities are dramatically improved.

“On present trends, the cost of urban traffic congestion based on extra travel time and resource use is projected to double by 2020,” Greens Senator for WA Scott Ludlam said.

“As our recent Pubic Transport Senate Inquiry concluded, congestion charging can help reduce these costs by discouraging motorists from travelling at the most congested times and places.

A report launched today by the Australian Conservation Foundation and an alliance of unions, local government, health and environmental groups calling for greater investment in public transport is especially relevant to Perth, Greens Senator for WA Scott Ludlam says.
‘Investing in Sustainable Transport: Our Clean Green Transport Future’, by the ACF and the Rapid, Active and Affordable Transport Alliance, calls for two-thirds of Australia’s transport budget to be spent on public transport and one-third on roads.

The Australian Greens say infrastructure funding in the coming Federal Budget must be used to reduce Australia's greenhouse emissions and create jobs in climate protection.

"Let's get over this obsession with sheltering the big polluters of the fossil fuel industry," Greens Sustainable Cities Spokesperson, Senator Scott Ludlam said.

"Let's instead use future infrastructure spending to help workers and the country adapt to the challenges we are facing in terms of the economy and the climate.

The Australian Greens say the government should prioritise green infrastructure and comprehensive public transport systems, now that it's being forced to downscale its infrastructure plans.

"Now that there is less money in the government's infrastructure kitty, it needs to prioritise initiatives that will be of positive, long term benefit to the Australian community. Public transport is an area in urgent need of attention," said the Greens Public Transport Spokesperson, Senator Scott Ludlam.

The Australian Greens say a new job vulnerability index placing 15% of suburbs on red alert for job cuts, highlights the need to improve public transport and provide affordable housing.

According to the index launched by the Centre of Full Employment and Equity at Newcastle University this morning, 15.2 % of Australian suburbs have high concentrations of jobs most likely to be at risk due to the global economic crisis.

"The future is here. It's just not widely distributed yet" ~ William Gibson

Take a drive an hour south through the rapidly expanding growth corridor fusing Perth to Mandurah, and you'll fly past a road sign at once hopeful and heartbreaking.

'Sustainable Mandurah Home' it points cheerfully. Somewhere within the featureless expanse of brick and tile sprawl relentlessly consuming the Swan coastal plain, someone has taken the time to build a sustainable home.