Treasurer Scott Morrison's first budget fails to provide a plan to transition the nation to a clean-energy economy and will entrench inequality in Australia, the Greens say.
Party leader Senator Richard Di Natale said the federal budget cuts more than $1 billion from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, despite its work in driving change towards a clean energy economy.
"You don't have an economic plan for jobs and for growth if you are silent on the biggest economic challenge facing the nation and that is making the transition to the clean-energy economy," he said on Tuesday.
Budget measures such as a rise in the middle-income tax threshold from $80,000 to $87,000 to deliver a small tax cut, and the end of a two per cent deficit levy on high income earners would worsen inequality.
"We've got politicians, for goodness sake, people like us who were not delivered just one tax cut, we get two," he said.
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"The budget deficit levy is gone and we get the changes to bracket creep. We don't need it. Ordinary Australians do and they miss out in this budget."
Greens MP Adam Bandt said changes to the middle-income tax threshold - which will affect 500,000 taxpayers - would do little.
"That's $4 billion less for schools and hospitals just so that above-average income earners can get a $6 a week tax cut that won't even buy them a sandwich," Mr Bandt said.
