In the first Budget of his Prime Ministership, Anthony Albanese has cut future funding for the National Centre for Coasts, Environment and Climate in Point Nepean National Park.
The Centre was to bring Monash University and the University of Melbourne together for the first higher education research institute on the Mornington Peninsula, with a key focus on climate science.
Following the signing of a Commonwealth Grant Agreement signed 2020, the Universities undertook extensive consultation with Parks Victoria, the Environment Protection Agency, the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council, as well as the Bunurong Land Council.
Community Consultation was well underway, with the last community consultation held only one month ago at Point Nepean.
The Budget papers state that funding for the National Centre for Coasts, Environment, and Climate was cut because the project “does not align with environmental spending priorities.”
Federal Member for Flinders, Zoe McKenzie MP, said the cut was deeply disappointing for the Mornington Peninsula.
“In one of its first budgetary acts, the Albanese Government has killed a project to bring world-class environmental science and university education to the Mornington Peninsula,” Ms McKenzie said.
“This project has been funded since the 2019/20 Budget. Commonwealth funds have already been used and years of work have been completed. To cut funding for this project with no consultation is a damning indictment on Labor’s lack of care for environmental science and higher education on the Mornington Peninsula.”
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