Climate Commission abolished by Abbott

The Abbott government has shut down the Climate Commission, with the now former Chief Commissioner Professor Tim Flannery receiving the news this morning from Environment Minister Greg Hunt.

The commission was established by the Gillard government in February 2011 to provide “authoritative, easy-to-understand and apolitical information to the Australian public on all aspects of climate change”, Professor Flannery said today.

He said the commission always “stayed out of the politics and stuck to the facts”, providing for the public’s “strong need for accurate information on climate change”.

Professor Flannery said he was proud of the commission’s achievements, including meeting with over 20,000 Australians, the production of 27 reports and its easily accessible website.

Hunt said today’s decision was “part of the Coalition’s plans to streamline government processes and avoid duplication of services”, with the commission’s role to apparently be picked up by the Environment Department.

The Abbott government had indicated in the lead-up to the election that the LNP would scrap various government bodies and programs associated with the Labor government’s carbon pricing scheme and climate change policy. This includes the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), which has been asked to cease its funding activities.

Greens Senator Richard Di Natale yesterday said such an act “shows a complete disregard for the parliament” as “the current legislation creates a mandate for the CEFC to invest its funds and that mandate cannot be changed without new legislation”.