Weeding out plants from Canberra Government Budget

At a time when world leaders are contemplating how to become more eco friendly, Parliament House Officials at Canberra Australia have ordered their contractors to remove 700 potted plants to save $132,000 a year.

Several Federal Government departments at Canberra also confirmed that they had given the greenery the chop, as cost saving measure.

These decisions have resulted in several responses from academic and industry players of Australia.

Professor Margaret Burchett, Director of Plants and Indoor Environemental Quality Group Faculty of Science University of Technology, Sydney wrote to the media, stating this would be a retrograde and counterproductive step.

International research has conclusively demonstrated that indoor plants not only reduce urban indoor air pollution overall; with adequate lighting they also reduce CO2 levels. Research conducted for Norwegian oil company Statoil also found installing office plants led to a 25 per cent decrease in symptoms including fatigue, headaches and coughing.

For more details of this story, please refer to:
— The Canberra Times www.canberratimes.com.au
— National Interior Plantscape Association www.nipa.asn.au