Page 5059 - Week 13 - Thursday, 29 November 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The trial of a new recycled product, Plastiphalt, for the 2018-19 road resurfacing program is a positive initiative, and I hope we will receive some good outcomes from the trial with a view to greater adoption. I am disappointed, although not surprised, that there is little detail about the next steps in the plastic bag reduction dilemma. Again, I am on record asking the commissioner for sustainability and climate change repeatedly about her office’s work on this issue. It was a slow process getting to the 20 September release of the independent review of the Plastic Shopping Bag Ban Act 2010, and I am still waiting on answers to questions that were taken on notice by the commissioner during the annual reports hearings earlier this month.
The four recommendations proposed in the review all deserve consideration: one, a mandatory plastic bag disclosure scheme; two, minimum plastic bag pricing; three, improved government governance on plastic bag regulation; and four, research on compostable plastic and household organic collection scheme. I hope it does not take as long for the government to deliberate on these four recommendations as it appeared to take to get the review in the first place. The 2018 national waste policy includes national targets on packaging, including single-use plastics. This is one area where considerable improvements can be made, and I look forward to hearing more of the environment ministers’ deliberations on this issue.
In considering how we can get rid of excessive single-use plastics, and in our enthusiasm to reduce our overall waste to landfill, we need to be mindful that we do not introduce regulations that have unintended consequences. There may well be circumstances where, for example, it is not feasible or suitable to not have plastic single-use water bottles available for sale or to not allow carrier bags in any circumstance or to disallow separate packaging for food items as much as we might all agree that there appears to be over-packaging of many food and grocery items. The minister says he is looking forward to leading the government response on the plastic bag review recommendations, and I say to the minister that we on this side of the chamber also look forward to hearing what those responses will be.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Education (Child Safety in Schools) Legislation Amendment Bill 2018
Ms Berry, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women) (10.56): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video