Closure of Green Loans contractor sparks calls for Government to intervene

Greens Senator Christine Milne and Liberal MP Andrew Lamming have called on the Government to repay 50 assessors who have been caught up in the closure of a private company contracted to perform Green Loan assessments.

Victorian-based private company Green Loans Assessors Co-Operative employed 50 assessors, but has now ceased trading, leaving the assessors unpaid for assessments performed in February.

It has been reported that the money owed to the assessors could be as high as $700,000.

Andrew Lamming, Liberal MP for the Queensland electorate of Bowman, says he has been in contact with about 40 of the 50 assessors.

He wants the Government to pay the assessors directly and then, if necessary, pursue GLACO to recover any money that was paid to the organisation but not passed onto assessors.

The office of the Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong, is investigating the matter, but Christine Milne, who says the number of assessors involved is 150, wants more action.

“People cannot pay their mortgages or feed their families with a promise to investigate; they need what is owed to them, and they need it now.”

ASIC documents indicate GLACO, based in the Victorian suburb of Brighton, is yet to enter administration. Lamming says former assessors are trying to contact the directors of the company to seek some answers.

Lamming, who has been highly critical of the Green Loans scheme, says the program should highlight the dangers of basing a business around the government.

“This is a sector where the government controls the supply, they control the demand and they control the regulations.”

He also says the decision to cap the number of assessments at five per week was a “cold-hearted political move” that has further weakened the scheme.

“No-one can make a living out of it, so the best people will leave and get another job. “