“オーストラリア再生可能エネルギー機関(Australian Renewable Energy Agency, ARENA)、低炭素地域社会プログラム(Low Carbon Communities Program)、および「我が国を守る運動(Caring for our Country Program)」を解体した。”
According to the Sydney Morning Herald article from December 2013, the Coalition government made a **$40 million cut** to ARENA in the 2013-14 financial year as part of the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) [1].
The Abbott government did announce a **$435 million funding reduction** to ARENA in November 2013, but this represented a re-profiling of the agency's $3 billion budget rather than its abolition [2].
Regarding the **Low Carbon Communities Program**, the SMH article confirms the Coalition did wind up this program, which provided grants to local councils for energy efficiency upgrades to community buildings [1].
For the **Caring for our Country Program**, the government cut **$6.7 million** specifically to help fund the Royal Commission into Labor's home insulation scheme [1].
The claim omits several critical pieces of context:
1. **ARENA continued operating**: The agency was not dismantled but rather had its funding re-profiled.
It remained operational through 2022 with billions in remaining funds [2][3].
2. **Budget deficit context**: These cuts occurred during the December 2013 MYEFO, when the government announced a budget deficit blowout to $47 billion.
Treasurer Joe Hockey cited a "$17 billion collapse in government revenues" as justification for spending reductions [1].
3. **The cuts were partial, not total**: The funding reductions affected specific programs but did not eliminate the agencies entirely.
ARENA, in particular, continued administering 181 projects with approximately $960 million in committed funds [2].
4. **Timing**: These changes occurred within months of the Abbott government taking office in September 2013, as part of their broader climate policy shift including the planned carbon price repeal [5].
However, the claim creator (Labor-aligned source) has taken selective information from this article and exaggerated it - particularly regarding ARENA being "dismantled" when the SMH article only mentioned a $40 million cut, not abolition.
**Did Labor do something similar?**
Search conducted: "Labor government climate program cuts", "Rudd Gillard environmental funding changes"
Finding: The Labor government itself had made adjustments to environmental programs during their tenure.
* * * *
The Parliamentary Library noted that the Caring for our Country program, originally a five-year $2 billion program scheduled to finish in June 2013, was extended by the Gillard government in the 2012-13 Budget with $2.2 billion in continued funding [4].
Additionally, the SMH article notes that the Coalition's Caring for our Country cuts were partially redirected to fund a Royal Commission into Labor's "pink batts" home insulation scheme [1], which itself had been a controversial Labor program involving significant spending and safety issues.
**Comparison**: Both governments adjusted environmental program funding based on fiscal and policy priorities.
The Coalition's changes occurred within a broader context of budget deficit concerns and a mandate to repeal the carbon price, while Labor had made their own program adjustments.
ARENA continued as an operational agency for nearly a decade after these cuts, managing hundreds of renewable energy projects with billions in funding.
The Low Carbon Communities Program was indeed wound up, which drew criticism from the Energy Efficiency Council whose members were described as "livid" about the decision [1].
The Caring for our Country cuts were part of a broader MYEFO package affecting many portfolios - including health, education, and indigenous legal aid - driven by deteriorating budget projections [1].
**Key context**: These changes reflected the Coalition government's different policy priorities on climate and energy, including their election commitment to repeal the carbon price.
While the Low Carbon Communities Program was indeed wound up and Caring for our Country received funding cuts, ARENA was **not dismantled** - it continued operating with over $2.5 billion in remaining funds through 2022.
While the Low Carbon Communities Program was indeed wound up and Caring for our Country received funding cuts, ARENA was **not dismantled** - it continued operating with over $2.5 billion in remaining funds through 2022.