Greens Science, Research and Innovation spokesperson Adam Bandt today said the reappointment of CSIRO CEO Larry Marshall is a chance for him to change direction.

Mr Bandt said the CSIRO CEO needs to listen to CSIRO staff, establish trust with the public and most importantly be willing to stand up to the government after what has been a disastrous year for the organisation.

The CSIRO has extended Larry Marshall’s contract as CEO until 2020.

Greens energy spokesperson Adam Bandt today said that the Greens will push to give the Commonwealth power for a national takeover of the energy market after the COAG meeting of Energy Ministers failed to deliver a co-operative plan to support renewable energy. Mr Bandt said the Greens will move when Parliament resumes to amend the national electricity laws to make cutting pollution an overriding goal of the energy system.

In response to Environment & Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg’s comments that he will proceed with the $1.3 billion cut to ARENA grant funding, Greens Energy spokesperson Adam Bandt MP called on Labor to abandon its support for the Liberals’ funding cuts.

“Labor must drop its election cut to ARENA and put out Josh Frydenberg’s renewable bonfire,” Mr Bandt said.

“The make up of the new Senate means we have an opportunity to protect the $1.3 billion of ARENA funding the Coalition wants to cut, but Labor needs to get on board.”

Following the Reserve Bank’s estimate that the major banks in Australia receive implicit public support worth up to about $4 billion a year, Greens Treasury spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today called on Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten to adopt the Greens’ proposal for a ‘Public Support Levy’ on the big four banks that would raise almost $15 billion of revenue over four years. The Customer Owned Banking Association has estimated that the support is worth $2.9 to $4.5 billion.

Greens Energy spokesperson Adam Bandt has welcomed reports that Australia’s dirtiest coal fired power station, Hazelwood, may close, but warned that Federal and State governments urgently need to put in place polices to ensure an orderly retirement of coal fired powered stations and a transition for the affected communities.

Hazelwood’s parent company Engie is reported to have said, in evidence to the French Senate, that it is reviewing the future of Hazelwood, including possible closure.

The Australian Greens want to put Australia on a path to spending 4% of GDP on science and research by 2030.

Announcing the policy at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in the electorate of Melbourne, Greens Leader Senator Richard Di Natale and Science and Industry spokesperson Adam Bandt MP said the policy would make Australia a world leader in investment in research and development.

The Australian Greens have today released a comprehensive Innovation Policy to back startup enterprises, support STEM education and boost innovation funding.

The policy was launched in Melbourne today with Innovation spokesperson Nick McKim, Industry and Science spokesperson Adam Bandt and Greens candidate for Higgins Jason Ball.

“The Australian Greens will reinvigorate the minds of Australian entrepreneurs by reinvesting the funding to the Entrepreneur’s Infrastructure Program,” Senator McKim said.

Greens Industry spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today said the Australian auto industry has crashed because Labor and the Liberals have been asleep at the wheel. In February last year the Greens proposed a plan to allow new carmakers and component manufacturers to access the existing hundreds of millions of dollars allocated in the Automative Transformation Scheme if they were manufacturing vehicles or parts for electric or alternative fuel vehicles, or parts for renewables.  Neither Labor nor the Liberals supported the move.

Greens Science spokesperson Adam Bandt MP today said the CSIRO management’s announcement of a new climate science centre in Hobart is really just a sleight of hand manoeuvre designed to distract from its confirmation that 75 climate science jobs and 275 jobs across the board will be cut from our national science organisation.

“The Greens welcome any investment in climate science and the CSIRO, however the motivations behind CSIRO management’s decision must be questioned,” Mr Bandt said.