KEY POINTS:
A selection of responses to Peter Costello's Australian Budget delivered last night:
Steve Shallhorn, Greenpeace CEO:
"With this Budget the Treasurer moves from being a climate denier to a climate pretender.
"What Australia needs is a climate champion.
"We didn't get one. While pretending to move on climate change, he keeps in place billions of dollars of subsidies to coal and oil."
Bob Brown, Australian Greens leader:
"This Budget is more about greed than green. The massive tax cuts are for spending now, but the Government has failed in its higher responsibility to tackle the greatest threat to this country's future and to the lifestyle of our children and their children, which is climate change.
"The richer you are the more you get out of this Budget. It is greedy, it is mean. It lets this country down. Millions might celebrate the tax cuts ... but it's squandering this nation's future. This is a wonderful country, we are in wealthy times, but we are faced with a responsibility to look at the threats coming down the line and this Government has failed on that."
Peter Hendy, Australia Chamber of Commerce CEO:
"The Government gets an A for its education and training reforms. We're a bit disappointed that there wasn't a further cut to the top rate of personal tax. But the personal tax cuts there are are very welcome for the business community.
"Overall, with all of these changes, the Government is forecasting inflation will be at 2.5 per cent for next financial year. We have no dispute with that forecast and we think there won't be any increased pressure on interest rates."
- REUTERS
