Greens demand 'progressive businesses' attack Tony Abbott

GREENS Leader Christine Milne has demanded "progressive businesses" publicly attack Tony Abbott's promised direct action plan.

GREENS Leader Christine Milne has demanded "progressive businesses" with investments in renewable energy publicly attack Tony Abbott's promised direct action plan on carbon change and celebrate the July 1 introduction of Julia Gillard's carbon tax.

Senator Milne has also criticised the Business Council of Australia for rejecting environmental controls because they might "impede business investment" and attacked the media for not publishing more positive stories about the need for an economic shift toward greater use of renewable energy.

The comments came yesterday in a speech to Sustainable Business Australian in Sydney in which Senator Milne also said her party was helping to create "ecologically sustainable consumers" who would want to buy the products offered by sustainable businesses.

Senator Milne succeeded Bob Brown to become the Greens Leader in April and in her previous role as the Greens spokeswoman on carbon change, was central to the design of the carbon tax, the imposition of which the Greens made a pre-condition to backing Julia Gillard's minority government.

She used her 30-minute speech in Sydney yesterday to oppose investment in mining and reject "the loud voices of the old order," imploring her audience to not only back the carbon tax but attack Tony Abbott's alternative approach of reducing carbon emissions through practical measures such as planting trees.

"Where are the critiques for direct action?" Senator Milne said.

"No-one is asking for a party political position. But (for) all of you in this room - to move to a sustainable economy to benefit your own businesses at the very least, not to mention the big picture of the national interest, depend(s) on exposing direct action as a complete nonsense.

"It is a complete nonsense but where are the critiques from sustainable business saying it will not work? It has not been costed."

Senator Milne said she understood that some green business owners might expect that the Coalition would win the next election and could fear that advocacy now could result in them receiving "the cold shoulder" from a Coalition Government.

However, she said that with other business groups continuing to resist the use of economic levers to encourage a swift transition to a low-carbon economy: "If you don't speak up, you will lose".

She reserved particular criticism for the BCA, accusing it of advocating massive investment in mining at the expense of sustainability.

"Anything that might impede business investment must be attacked and environmental protection is in that category," she said.

As she called for public support from business Senator Milne said understood that it was difficult to attract coverage for positive stories because of "the concentration of media ownership".

"But nevertheless, we have to rewrite the rules that govern our economy so that we move rapidly to a low and then a zero carbon future and sustainable living."

A spokesman for the Opposition Leader said last night that Senator Milne's speech was evidence that while Labor was in government, the Greens were in power.

"Christine Milne and Julia Gillard want Australian families to pay hundreds of dollars more each year for an electricity tax that nobody voted for," Mr Abbott's spokesman said.