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Making indigenous poverty history? Not this Government

"Annual funding for Indigenous health has increased by over $270 million or by more than 170 per cent in real terms since 1996."

- Opening paragraph of press release on indigenous health budget initiatives, Tony Abbott, 8.5.07

Golly gee. Fair bit of good that has done, as I have already noted.

Go Arnie!

"At this rate, it will take Australia 267 years to make the kind of shift to solar that California has planned for 10 years - a million solar roofs by 2017."

- Senator Christine Milne (The Greens), 8.5.07

Senator Milne is referring to the extensions in the solar panel rebate program, or PVRP - Photo Voltaic Rebate Program announced in the 2007-08 Federal Budget. Extensions worth $150 million - that's $7 per capita. Seven dollars.

Not budging enough

There's three main areas that I have been focusing on in studying this Federal Budget:

  1. Environmental management
  2. Millennium Development Goal No.1 on foreign aid
  3. Tackling indigenous poverty

And the Government is not scrubbing up too well in these areas.

Let's start with foreign aid, and the two opening paragraphs from Alexander Downer's press release on the Overseas Aid budget announcements:

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