Page 1219 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 March 2013
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(a) the recent decision by the Federal Court of Australia in Coca-Cola Amatil (Aust) Pty Ltd v Northern Territory of Australia [2013] FCA 154 which ruled that the Northern Territory container deposit scheme was invalid; and
(b) that some beverage companies have announced that they will cease to provide container deposit refunds under the scheme;
(2) calls on all Australian governments to work together to expedite consideration of any application made by the Northern Territory Government for an exemption to the Mutual Recognition Act 1992, to support the continuation of the Northern Territory container deposit scheme; and
(3) calls on the ACT Government to:
(a) support any application for exemption to the Mutual Recognition Act 1992 for a container deposit scheme from the Northern Territory Government; and
(b) work with other jurisdictions to establish a national container deposit scheme.
I am introducing this motion today so that this Assembly can play its part in progressing and promoting good recycling and waste minimisation practices in the ACT and, indeed, in Australia. Recycling and waste minimisation is an issue of great importance as we experience growing problems such as the increasing costs of landfills, depleting natural resources and, indeed, the economic and environmental costs that come with extracting those resources.
I have three goals in introducing this motion today. The first is to help address an issue that has arisen from a legal challenge to the Northern Territory’s container deposit scheme. The second is to promote the establishment of a national container deposit recycling scheme, which will be of benefit to the ACT and all jurisdictions. The third goal is to reinforce this Assembly’s strong support for and commitment to recycling and waste minimisation, including acknowledgement of the valuable contribution that can be made by container deposit schemes.
A container deposit scheme essentially requires a deposit to be paid on recyclable beverage containers at the point of sale, usually something like 10c. A person who returns the container to a recycling centre can then collect that deposit. This encourages recycling, reduces litter and of course creates new businesses and new jobs.
According to the Boomerang Alliance, annually Australians consume drinks in about 13 billion containers. About 40 per cent of these are recycled. In the ACT we have kerbside recycling, which is used very well. Interestingly, the evidence from other jurisdictions, including formal government studies, suggests that container deposit schemes actually complement kerbside recycling programs rather than interfere with them.
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