Plastic Shopping Bags (Prohibition on Supply by Retailers) Bill 2019

Hansard ID: HANSARD-1323879322-108484

Hansard session: Fifty-Seventh Parliament, First Session (57-1)

Plastic Shopping Bags (Prohibition on Supply by Retailers) Bill 2019

Second Reading Debate

Debate resumed from 17 October 2019

Ms WENDY LINDSAY (East Hills) (11:02):

:10 I speak in opposition to the bill because, as other speakers have said, we cannot look at this issue in isolation. In noting this fact, I congratulate the Minister for Energy and Environment on the leadership that he has shown on this issue and I welcome the comprehensive and consultative approach that he intends to take. The Government is working on a comprehensive plastics policy. We on this side are working on the 20-year waste strategy. We are working with all State and Territory governments and the Federal Government to develop an action plan to support the National Waste Policy. We published the New South Wales Circular Economy Policy statement in February this year and we stand by our target of 100 per cent of packaging being recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025—and hopefully even sooner.

Last week the Minister acknowledged the severe impacts that plastics are having on our environment, and what were Opposition members doing? They were interjecting and speaking over him because the Opposition is not serious about this topic. The Opposition wants a headline, a media grab and a piece on the nightly news. Opposition members will not acknowledge the good work that the Government is doing in the waste space. They have tried to make the entire debate on waste and plastics solely about plastic bags. I agree with the Minister that we must ban the bag and I also agree with the Minister that we must not do it in isolation. In saying that, it is not just about banning things and increasing red tape.

Community engagement is a critical factor for changing littering behaviour. It raises awareness and builds the norm that littering is not the right thing to do. As a local MP who has significant green space, national parks and rivers in my electorate, I have seen the real, on-the-ground difference that events like Clean Up Australia Day and groups such as Keep Australia Beautiful and Landcare make. Community engagement is vital in finding a solution to our waste problems. We have already seen this with major retailers moving away from single-use plastic bags and the impact that that is having on consumer behaviour.

The Government does of course have a role to play here as well. In 2014 the Hey Tosser! campaign was launched. The campaign focused on establishing a social norm to not litter. The next phase of the campaign launched in 2018, shifting from the "Hey Tosser!" tagline to "Don't be a Tosser", focuses on the excuses that people use for littering, to help them recognise and take responsibility for their own behaviour. Four out of five adults in New South Wales now recognise and remember the Tosser campaign. This is a significant result. A marine litter campaign is also scheduled for early March 2020 to raise awareness of the impact of litter on the marine environment. The Government has also developed a litter prevention kit, which provides research results and advice on designing effective anti-littering programs. The kit is used by community groups and councils. The NSW Litter Prevention Strategy has recently been updated to incorporate community input and updated litter figures.

I recognise that enforcing litter offences is an important strategy in changing the social norms around littering. I say this to reinforce my point that it is not as simple as just banning the bag. We need to move to a circular economy that will provide long-term economic, social and environmental benefits for New South Wales. We need to change community behaviours, we need to work with other jurisdictions and we need to consider the issues surrounding waste and plastics comprehensively and consultatively. I end where I began: I commend the work of the Minister for Energy and Environment, I look forward to the continued success of the initiatives already in place, I welcome continued discussions on plastics and waste policy and I welcome a sensible and considered approach to managing plastic bags. I reiterate my opposition to the bill.

Mr RAY WILLIAMS (Castle Hill) (11:06):

:52 It gives me great pleasure to speak on behalf of the Government and to oppose this bill, but I say at the outset that I always commend any endeavours to reduce our footprint on the environment. I commend any endeavours by individuals to improve our environment overall. For the record, the current New South Wales Liberal-Nationals Government has been responsible for the largest reduction in plastic waste ever seen across this country. That has been through the introduction of the container deposit scheme, Return and Earn. Further, for the record, in 2007 my namesake, counterpart and great friend, John Williams, the former member for Murray-Darling—

Mr Greg Piper:

Crusty.

Mr RAY WILLIAMS:

I acknowledge the interjection by the member for Lake Macquarie. "Crusty" is the name that he had. They used to call the pair of us the Williams sisters, and I always reminded him that I was Venus. More importantly, John Williams brought a motion before this House in 2007 requesting the Government at the time to commence the process of installing a container deposit scheme. As most people would remember, the Murray-Darling electorate adjoined South Australia and there has been a container deposit scheme in South Australia since Adam wore short pants, or for a long time. John Williams saw firsthand the reduction in plastic waste.

I was very happy to join with him at that particular time—a long time ago now—to call on those in the former Labor Government to put in place a container deposit scheme. That was in 2007. They had plenty of time to do that. They had plenty of time to act. They had plenty of time to do whatever they liked to reduce plastic waste across New South Wales. As we know, they did nothing. The request fell on deaf ears, but it did not fall on deaf ears on our side of the House. So we pursued it. I acknowledge the former Minister for the Environment and member for Vaucluse, Gabrielle Upton, who is in the Chamber. She introduced that particular scheme. To date it has been the most effective environmental scheme to reduce plastic waste across New South Wales that has ever been initiated in this country. Billions and billions of bottles and containers are no longer strewn along our roadsides and in our waterways, affecting marine life and making this State look absolutely filthy.

We now see initiatives to reduce plastic bags. I note for the record that corporations are taking it upon themselves to reduce their environmental footprint by reducing plastic bags. My own family certainly lives a very sustainable life. The boot of my car is overflowing with reusable bags in multiple colours of red, blue and black. We have so many reusable bags that it almost looks like the Rainbow Warriors invade the boot of my car every time I open it. But there has to be a personal sense of responsibility on the part of every person who goes shopping to, as much as they can, reduce the use of single-use plastic bags. I am not going to condemn anybody for introducing what I say is a worthwhile initiative. But as has been said many times by Government members, we need a comprehensive approach to reducing the amount of plastics in our environment.

Is the problem just plastic bags? No, it is not. There are many other plastics. We are already seeing with the Return and Earn scheme how we can reduce the amount of plastics in our environment through this very strategic approach. The last time the Minister sent me figures, I think my electorate was on top of the list for the highest number of people who were collecting their 10c. Some very industrious young people are out there raiding rubbish bins every night. I started to get numerous emails from people who were very disturbed to hear the rattling and clanging of rubbish bins on the side of the road.

I said, "Look, please don't take away from the fact that these wonderful, industrious entrepreneurs are not only getting themselves 10c but are ultimately ensuring that those particular containers are going back to recycling, which we like." I note that many of our Scouting and sporting groups are taking the opportunity to direct that money back to their organisations. It is having a marvellous effect on funding for many of those groups and organisations. Most importantly, it is having a monumental effect on reducing the amount of plastic waste on our streets.

A small number of disgusting and filthy people continue to discard their waste out of their car doors. It does not matter what road, motorway or street you drive up; there will be an abundance of filth, litter and discarded waste on every road. We really are a disgusting community when you look at the amount of litter alongside roads. For the sake of my own health, my wife and I walk for three or four kilometres every morning, and the amount of litter I pick up is phenomenal. I like to keep my patch and my area clean. But since the introduction of the container deposit scheme, there has been a vast reduction in the amount of litter alongside our roads. We really need to ask the question: In this day and age, when there is a such a focus on trying to create a much more sustainable environment, whatever comes into the heads of people who discard their litter out of their car doors while they are driving around one of the greatest countries in the world?

But I place on the record the fact that there is an abundance of filthy and disgusting people. It is not everybody; it is a small number of people. There is always a small number of people who make life difficult for everybody and who ultimately make life difficult for government, which has to create further regulations, fines et cetera. The Don't Be a Tosser campaign has been mentioned by earlier speakers; that was one of those actions by government. The Government should not have to do that. People should take responsibility, just as they should take responsibility to minimise their impact by using reusable bags every time they go to the supermarket.

A number of measures can be taken and none are more important than the Government's $802 million investment into the Waste Less, Recycle More initiative to revitalise anti‑litter action across New South Wales through new education, community awareness, targeted enforcement programs and new and upgraded litter prevention initiatives. The Government's aim is to lower the State's litter count per capita. Here we are as a government having to spend $800 million because people driving around our streets cannot be trusted to keep their rubbish until they get home and put it in their own bin. It is very much a bugbear of mine, as is graffiti.

Under the Waste Less, Recycle More initiative, by 2021 the Government will have invested $50 million specifically in litter reduction and enforcement programs. It is also working in partnership with communities and local government to achieve the Premier's Priority to reduce by 40 per cent the volume of litter in New South Wales by 2020. That is just one of the initiatives this Government undertakes. I look forward to seeing in the future a comprehensive bill put forward by this Government which looks at further reducing plastic in our environment. At this point in time, I oppose the bill.

Mr GREG PIPER (Lake Macquarie) (11:16):

:56 Thank you, Mr Temporary Speaker, for taking the chair to allow me to make a contribution to debate on the Plastic Shopping Bags (Prohibition on Supply by Retailers) Bill 2019. I apologise, but the member for Castle Hill had so much to say. Apparently he has not convinced the Opposition members on my side of the House, but I am sure there will be further attempts to do so. I really wanted to speak on this bill. I congratulate the member for Port Stephens and those members of the Opposition who are supporting this bill, because I certainly will be. At the same time, I will not be so ungenerous as to not recognise the good work that the Government is doing. I have had numerous discussions with the previous Minister for the Environment, the member for Vaucluse. I am glad that she is present in the Chamber; I know she is going to be contributing to this debate. I am continuing my discussions with the current Minister for Energy and Environment, Matt Kean.

This is a really important issue and it is something that I have been involved with for very many years. It was almost literally a slap in the face when I came to understand the extent of the problem of plastics in our environment. That was some years ago when I used to travel to Bali to surf—I was a bit younger and a bit fitter. Bali is a destination for Australian tourism and it was drowning in plastic. It was almost emblematic of the problem. It was one of the best examples of the disposable society we had become. While we have a lot of problems here in Australia, it was so dense and intense in Bali that you could see it literally in your face. I did some work over there with some not‑for‑profits and some great organisations of largely Australian expats who are living there. One of my great shames is that I had to move away from that; I just did not have the capacity to go on. But the people on the ground continued to work over there, including our friend Ian Kiernan, who took Clean Up the World to Bali. I worked on that over there with him. But that is only one part of the solution.

Bali is a place I never thought would come to grips with the issue of single-use plastic bags but in June this year Bali banned single-use plastic bags. A few other places need recognition. There are Third World countries that have many issues yet understand the problems created by plastics. I understand that Bali is only a small part of Indonesia and that the whole country has a big struggle in front of it but countries like Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda and Somalia have banned the use of single-use plastic bags. Every other jurisdiction in Australia has taken significant steps along this path but New South Wales has not.

I have listened to Government members and I agree with them that this State needs a comprehensive strategy to deal with plastics in our environment. There are a lot of people working on the problems caused by plastics. I am sure that Government members, including the former Minister for the Environment, Gabrielle Upton, know many people—many more than I do—who are working on the issue. Many people in universities are working on projects in this area. One such project is AUSMAP, which is looking at micro particles in our environment.

The member for Manly and I have visited that project, which is looking at ubiquitous plastics, some of which will last in the environment for thousands and thousands of years. In some cases plastics will remain in the environment for millions of years. When we have gone, that will be a legacy for any life that might survive. The problem with plastics has only really existed since the 1950s when plastics started to be commonly used and disposable. So this has had a huge impact within 70 years, with plastics being found in the Antarctic and in the deepest parts of the oceans. Plastics are choking our waterways. Birds are ingesting it in the terrestrial environment and seabirds are ingesting plastics in the oceans. Whales die from bowel obstructions caused by ingesting plastics. A lot of these problems come from the single-use plastic bags, because of their very nature.

I commend the Government for looking at a whole-of-plastic-problem strategy. "Reduce, reuse, recycle" is a good mantra to live by and to keep working on. I implore the Government to keep investing in this area. I have been working quite closely with a scientist from the University of Newcastle, Dr Thava Palanisami. His team recently identified the fact that each and every one of us consumes, on average, about a credit card of plastic per week, I think. It is some incredibly large amount, but whatever the number is it should be a wake-up call because we do not know what that will do to our health in the long term. We know that, in the short term, our wildlife is dying from the ingesting of plastics or by becoming tangled in single-use plastic bags. Sea life in particular is prone to ingesting plastics bags.

I appreciate that the Government is doing a good job but we need to be realistic. The reason that this issue is not being dealt with is not because the Government needs to step back and look at it from an overall perspective. While that might be a good idea it will also cause a delay, and every time there is a delay more wildlife dies. It is estimated that 130,000 tonnes of plastics go into Australian waterways every year. Every day, week, month or year that we delay, more wildlife will die unnecessarily. So I believe that we need to take action on this. It is another wake-up call to the community.

As the member for Castle Hill said, we need to take personal responsibility, but this legislation is a reminder to people that they need to keep stepping up. I believe that this is a good bill but I can do the numbers and I believe that I will be in the chair for the division. This bill will probably not pass because it is a non-government bill—a bill that has been put forward by the Opposition. That is the reality of it. As a discrete bill relating to single-use plastic bags, this bill could be very easily dealt with. It would be a very simple thing to do. When the Government does have a comprehensive strategy for plastics—the ubiquitous plastics that need to be repurposed or reprocessed in some way—this single-use plastic bag prohibition could be rolled into it, or it could stand alone. This is a very simple bill.

The way in which single-use plastic bags interact with the environment is different to the way many other plastics interact. That is because of the nature of single-use plastic bags—their fineness and the way they are ingested. I know that this bill will not be passed by this House but I agree that the Government has been doing some really good work in this space. I acknowledge that former Ministers have done some good work; it has been a progression. I congratulate the former Minister for the Environment, Gabrielle Upton, on the Return and Earn scheme; it has been a huge success. I thank her and the Government for doing that, but we can do more.

I acknowledge the member for Port Stephens, who introduced the bill. The Plastic Shopping Bags (Prohibition on Supply by Retailers) Bill 2019 is a very simple bill. The intention of the bill is to change, as quickly as possible, the way we deal with plastics in our environment. I believe that that is imperative. I thank the Chamber for giving me an opportunity to speak on this legislation. I commend the bill to the House. If it is defeated I ask that the Government enacts other strategies as quickly as possible.

Mr JUSTIN CLANCY (Albury) (11:26):

:17 I oppose the bill that has been brought to this House by the member for Port Stephens. In doing so I recognise the people in the gallery. I have listened to the speeches of the member for Lake Macquarie and the member for Castle Hill and I reiterate that we all recognise the need to reduce our environmental footprint and the need to reduce waste. I am very proud of what local government has done in my electorate to work with the community on programs such as Halve Waste. Local councils have made significant inroads in reducing waste. This debate comes down to the whole notion of whether it is as simple as just banning plastic bags—

Ms Kate Washington:

Which you can do today.

Mr JUSTIN CLANCY:

—or whether it is about taking a more comprehensive approach. The gallery might—

Opposition members interjected.

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TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Mark Coure):

Order! Members will come to order.

Mr JUSTIN CLANCY:

I will give two insights. The first is the fact that retailers who have taken the initiative to stop using single-use plastic bags still allow shoppers to go home with mini plastics and ooshies. A simplistic approach is not the response we need. The second insight that I gained in consultation with the community of my electorate is in relation to the simple approach to take-away containers. Cardboard takeaway containers can be unlined, lined with a petroleum-based product or lined with a natural-based product. Some of those containers will be biodegradable and recyclable, some will be recyclable and some are neither biodegradable nor recyclable. The fact is that because waste management companies such as Cleanaway cannot differentiate, all of it goes to landfill. So taking a simplistic approach is not the response that we need.

People in my community have said, "Yes, we need to do this, but we need to do it well." That means taking a comprehensive approach, and I am very supportive of the approach of the Minister for Energy and Environment to developing a comprehensive plan. It is important to work with the Minister for Energy and Environment to push forward on this issue so that we can leave a legacy with a comprehensive plan. The use of bans is only one tool available. We need to look at ways of working with industry. We need to look at reducing the amount of unnecessary packaging because the use of plastics in packaging has grown over recent years. We need to look at stewardship. As the member for Castle Hill said in his contribution to this debate, we need accountability within our communities. It is this sort of approach and thinking that is at the heart of the Government's policy approach to litter and pollution.

I note, as the member for Castle Hill did, the container deposit scheme. The Opposition has taken a simplistic approach but failed to see that its colleagues in other States need to come on board. The New South Wales Government has invested $50 million over nine years in litter prevention and enforcement initiatives such as the Waste Less, Recycle More program, which is having results. According to the National Litter Index beverage containers make up the largest proportion of litter volume in New South Wales at 54 per cent, or around 160 million containers littered. That is why the Government introduced the Return and Earn scheme, which allows anyone who returns a beverage container to receive a 10c refund. This has been a priority for the Government.

Now there are more than 630 return points across New South Wales. Over 300 schools, charities, community and sporting groups have already featured as donation partners on reverse vending machines across New South Wales. We see Scouts and Girl Guides groups earning something through utilising the container deposit scheme. The scheme works to encourage consumers. It is not a ban but an encouragement for our community to do the right thing with litter. To date, more than 2.3 billion drink containers have been returned to Return and Earn collection points. This is a testament to the public's appetite for the scheme.

Since 2013-14 we have achieved a 35 per cent reduction in litter volume. This means we are close to achieving the 40 per cent reduction target. We will continue to do more. Over the next 20 years Return and Earn is expected to result in 1.6 billion fewer beverage containers littered, almost 11 billion fewer beverage containers ending up in landfill and 12.6 billion more beverage containers being recycled. The scheme has been a great success statewide. However, being on the border, it does have its challenges. This is where the Labor Opposition is being shown up. One simple thing would be a great boost to the success of Return and Earn, particularly for my community in Albury and on the border: I want to see the Victorian Labor Government sign up and implement a container deposit scheme. It is the only jurisdiction that is not involved in a container deposit scheme.

The people of Victoria are missing out on the benefits. The lack of a scheme causes unnecessary confusion for my community living along the border. I want to see a commitment from the Labor Opposition in New South Wales to encourage its comrades in Victoria to implement such a scheme. Please take the initiative and work with the Government to encourage your Victorian colleagues to come on board. The Labor Opposition has been silent on this issue and has done nothing to advocate on behalf of communities living along the border. It is important to reduce our environmental footprint. I will be working hard with the environment Minister. I encourage our Government to continue working towards a comprehensive plan to address plastic waste and pollution. The New South Wales Government will continue to deliver considered, collaborative and effective action on litter. I look forward to making this State a better place for the generations that follow us.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Greg Piper):

I acknowledge the many students in the gallery from Hornsby Primary School leaders' group, guests of the environment Minister and member for Hornsby. I also welcome their mums, dads, carers, grandparents and teachers to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. I am sure the member for Vaucluse will enjoy speaking in front of those attendees. I remind guests they are not allowed to wave. Members are debating the very important subject of plastics. I believe that members across the board are all trying to do something to improve our environment.

Ms GABRIELLE UPTON (Vaucluse) (11:35):

:07 I thank the Temporary Speaker for his warm introduction to the guests in the Chamber today. I welcome you all to Parliament House. You have come to see us debate a bill that I am opposing. The bill goes to plastics in our community and how they impact our environment, something you would all understand. During my speech today I will explain why I oppose the bill. The bill is only focused on one part of the plastic that we have in our environment. This part represents only 0.23 per cent of the plastic that we find in our environment. We can do better than this. We can have a strategy that reduces the plastic in our environment in the many ways that we find it—whether it is plastic straws, plastic containers we get for our take-out meals or the larger, heavier plastic bags we get when we go to the large retail stores.

We need to reduce those items of plastic and many others at the same time to really do something significant, instead of what Labor is doing in the Chamber today: Holding up single-use plastic bags, such a small part of the plastic litter stream in our environment, and making that the best that it can do. Surely it is not the best it can do. We all agree this is such an important issue. The Minister—your local member—has made an offer to the Labor Opposition to come together in a bipartisan way to develop a comprehensive plastics production strategy across the State. However, they have not done that. They are arguing about one very small part of the plastic litter stream. That is not the way to tackle a bigger issue that we need to deal with in a comprehensive way. That is the logic behind my position on the bill.

We all know that when we create matter—whether it is plastic or anything else in our lives—that it does not go away. It turns from one form into another. You might have learnt at school about the law of thermodynamics. I know I did when I was at school—maybe when a little bit older than you. When you create things, you do not destroy them and they go to nothing; they simply turn into different forms. Frankly, we have not dealt with that inconvenient truth when it comes to litter in our environment. We put it in our yellow bin to go to recycling or our red bin, where it goes to landfill and basically gets buried to disintegrate—and sometimes not disintegrate—for many generations beyond us. We think that is the end of the story, but it is not. That litter continues to exist in our environment. That is why we can be much cleverer, more nimble and do something much more comprehensive that will really tackle the issue the Labor Opposition is today bringing to the House in such a light-touch, simplistic, symbolic way.

I hope I have made it clear to the House today that waste and plastics are a wicked problem. However, on this side of the House we are up for solving it. We have a responsibility to you, our future generations—to my kids, to my daughter who is doing her HSC exams this week—to solve this problem and set our community on a pathway to reduce plastics in our environment. I really thought the shadow Minister was better than this. I was environment Minister before the change of ministry at the last election. I thought if the shadow Minister came to this House that she would be smarter, more nimble and more sophisticated than to bring the bill back into the Parliament. I thought she would talk more comprehensively about how we can reduce all the plastics in our environment. However, she has chosen not to do that and I think that is really shameful. This debate could have been a very different one, one much more constructive that helped you and our whole community across New South Wales.

We heard the member for Lake Macquarie talk about why plastics are so endemic in our environment. They have become ubiquitous, they are everywhere around us. In fact, if I were to look around the Chamber I am sure that I would find something plastic. Why? Because they have become so cheap to manufacture, they are versatile, they are waterproof—which we all love—and they are used in so many products across our community that we no longer see them. The features that made plastic so popular as a bright, fantastic material developed in the last century have really made it the environment hazard that we know it to be today. It does not decay. We are still testing whether things that are called "biodegradable" actually degrade. Some things that are called biodegradable will only degrade in very special circumstances, so they do not actually degrade. Sometimes that smartness around what really goes on is missed on all of us, unless we have done a bit of reading.

Clearly my point is that we have to reduce all plastics, not just single-use plastics. We want to be able to reuse them and recycle them. When I was the environment Minister something called a circular economy was introduced. That means we should have an economy where we reduce the waste we produce, then we repurpose it, if we can, and reuse it. One of the best examples of that is the container deposit scheme, which others have spoken about today. That was a tough reform for our community. It involved much more than people taking their bottles to a kiosk for a 10c return. It involved a change in the supply chain—from the commercial bottlers down to the way in which we deal with plastic bottles, cans and glass bottles in the environment.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Greg Piper):

The member for Newcastle will come to order.

Ms GABRIELLE UPTON:

We are the leading State on that initiative. That has dramatically reduced the number of drink containers that would otherwise go into our waterways, beaches and parks. We are really proud as a government that we have done that. We are the leading State in the technology that has been rolled out. The funny thing was, when I introduced that off the shoulders of previous environment Ministers in this House, the Labor Opposition contested it.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Greg Piper):

The member for Newcastle will come to order.

Ms GABRIELLE UPTON:

They did not want to be a part of it. In question time they repeatedly asked questions about it. They were trying to shoot the scheme out: the best litter reduction scheme that the State has had. They decided they did not like it and wanted to score political points on it. I called them out on that.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Greg Piper):

Opposition members will come to order.

Ms GABRIELLE UPTON:

The irony was, some Labor Party members took me aside and said, "We want a Return and Earn kiosk in our electorate because we really love this. We love being able to get a deposit back. It incentivises us to pick up our plastic and glass bottles and cans and put them into the kiosks to help reduce the bottle and drink containers in our environment."

Opposition members interjected

[.]

The Opposition is arguing hard and trying to make you not able to hear me. They are ashamed that they did not come on that journey with us. It is even more shameful that they do not tell their colleagues in Victoria to get on board and roll out the scheme. Victoria—run by the Labor Party—is the only State that has not introduced a Return and Earn scheme. Shame on Labor. What has happened—let them talk away, I will keep talking to you about what we need to do. We are tackling marine pollution on microplastics. That is a great story. Do you realise there are little plastics that you cannot see in household items that you use to clean up—I am sure you all help your mums and dads clean up at home—and in some of the cosmetics in your bathroom cabinet?

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Greg Piper):

The member for Newcastle will cease interjecting.

Ms GABRIELLE UPTON:

We are leading an initiative federally on marine pollution from plastics to make sure that the small microplastics that you cannot see in your deodorant or the cream that you might use are reduced over time. The plastics we cannot even see are going to be taken out of the litter streams. They will not be in the waterways or the ocean. They will not create a health hazard for our marine life or for us when we eat seafood. I have talked about Return and Earn and how those on this side are really proud of that initiative. It is the biggest litter reduction recycling initiative across Australia. I encourage you all to think of some bright ideas on how we can reduce our plastic use. It is not just about single-use plastic bags. Yes, they are part of the solution, but they are not the focus that we should have. I ask the Opposition and the shadow environment Minister to come on board with our now environment Minister to help design a comprehensive strategy that will reduce all plastics in our environment.

Mr MARK COURE (Oatley) (11:45):

:12 I speak in debate on the Plastic Shopping Bags (Prohibition on Supply by Retailers) Bill 2019. It is fair to say that all members in this place want to see a reduction of all forms of plastic.

Opposition members interjected.

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Mr MARK COURE:

You have had your turn, now it is my turn. I think we all want to see a reduction. It is clear to me that there are some people—those opposite—who are playing politics with the issue. We are not playing politics with the issue.

Mr Tim Crakanthorp:

It's called a mirror.

Mr MARK COURE:

It is a very good mirror too. Results speak for themselves. I can report to the House that over 10 million bottles and plastics have been deposited in Return and Earn machines in my electorate—over 10 million. That is huge. I am sure that the member for Newcastle—from the rate he goes in this Chamber, he has probably deposited more bottles and cans from his own personal collection in his Return and Earn machines. In fact, from the rate he is going I think he has already taken a trip to the bar this morning.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Greg Piper):

The member for Oatley will address his comments through the Chair.

Mr MARK COURE:

Talking about the importance of bottles and cans. I place on record my thanks to everyone in my electorate of Oatley and throughout New South Wales who have added to the more than two billion bottles and cans deposited since the introduction of the Return and Earn machines. I congratulate the environment Minister, the previous environment Minister, and the one before, and the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and member for Pittwater Mr Rob Stokes, who has just walked in on cue.

Ms Kate Washington:

We supported banning the bag when he was Minister.

Mr MARK COURE:

You have had your turn. He was one of those who came up with some of the mechanics of the Return and Earn scheme in the State. I place on record that the Government remains firmly committed to working with industry and collaborating with other Australian jurisdictions across the country to reduce plastic pollution. I think we are all on the same page. I note that the member for Rockdale has just waked into the Chamber. I also thank the industry, which has taken a strong leadership role in phasing out the use of plastic bags to reduce the impacts of plastics. Major supermarket chains have been the largest providers of single‑use plastic bags in New South Wales.

In July 2017 the Woolworths Group, Coles, Harris Farm Markets and IGA announced that they would voluntarily phase out lightweight plastic bags at their checkouts by July 2018. I thank and commend them for their proactive steps to phasing out lightweight plastic bags. In addition to that, major Australian supermarkets Coles and Woolworths have also committed to phasing out plastic packaging on fresh food and providing soft plastic recycling bins in all stores. But it should not just be them; it should be all specialty retail shops, a coffee shop or newsagent. Everyone needs to get behind the soft plastic recycling bins and reduce plastic packaging. Their collective decision in voluntarily phasing out plastic bags and other plastic packaging will significantly reduce plastic litter in New South Wales.

I mentioned the Government's commitment to reducing litter with Return and Earn machines. To date more than two billion bottles and cans have been recycled in New South Wales as a result of having these machines. We expect about three billion cans and bottles to be recycled over the next 12 months. I note the member for Rockdale has entered the Chamber. In my local community, more than 10 million bottles and cans have been deposited in just two Return and Earn machines in my electorate, one in Castle Park and the other end Peakhurst. I am sure recycling is no different in the electorate of Rockdale and the electorate of Kogarah. To complement industry's actions on plastic bags and other single-use plastic items, at a recent meeting of environment Ministers all Australian environment Ministers agreed to explore options to reduce the use of thicker plastic shopping bags, which I think is the next step.

A cross-jurisdictional working group has been established to do this work and New South Wales is working with the other States and Territories to achieve this goal. In addition, Australian environment Ministers recently endorsed a target of 100 per cent of Australian packaging being recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2025 or earlier. Governments are working with the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, representing over 1,400 leading companies, to deliver this target. The New South Wales Government is working with other Australian jurisdictions to finalise a national action plan, which is due to be tabled at a meeting of environment Ministers later this year. The New South Wales Government is also developing a 20-year waste strategy for New South Wales and a plastics strategy. This sets out a long-term—

Ms Kate Washington:

Have you got that strategy?

Mr MARK COURE:

—this is important—vision for waste management across the State and will provide a framework for improved plastic management in New South Wales.

Ms Jodie Harrison:

Point of order: My point of order relates to Standing Order 76. I ask the member to speak on the Plastic Shopping Bags (Prohibition on Supply by Retailers) Bill 2019, not the waste strategy of New South Wales.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Greg Piper):

I appreciate the member for Charlestown's attempt, but you would have had to take that point of order much earlier in this debate. I do not uphold the point of order.

Mr MARK COURE:

I give her points for trying. I believe any action regarding the phasing out of plastic bags must begin at a local level. This is why I personally have been working with local community groups in my electorate, such as the Lugarno Progress Association, to aid and encourage local small business to transition away from the use of shopping bags and single-use plastic, such as plastic straws, plastic cups et cetera. I am on the record supporting the phasing out of plastics to make sure that we see a reduction of plastic waste in my community. We need a sensible approach in partnership with industry and the community, and that is exactly what members on this side of the Chamber will do. Therefore, I think the bill before the House is premature and targets only one source of plastic pollution that affects our natural environment.

Ms KATE WASHINGTON (Port Stephens) (11:53):

:25 In reply: Has this not been an interesting debate on the Plastic Shopping Bags (Prohibition on Supply by Retailers) Bill 2019? Government member after Government member has tried to make their contributions to this debate last long enough that this bill does not have to go to a vote. Former environment Ministers have tied themselves in knots in their efforts to say why they could not possibly support a bill that they themselves wanted to pass when they were the environment Minister. One thing communities expect of us is that when we stand in this place we tell the truth and we are honest. However, a number of members who have contributed to this debate have been neither truthful nor honest. Some have been on the public record as wanting to ban single-use plastic bags in New South Wales. Why would we not want to ban single-use plastic bags in New South Wales? We know that every other State and Territory has already done so.

As the good member for Lake Macquarie mentioned in his contribution to this debate, Bali has banned single-use plastic bags. We know that a number of countries have banned single-use plastic bags: Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Seychelles, Tanzania, Tunisia—and yet this Liberal-Nationals Government in New South Wales cannot quite bring itself to support a Labor bill to do exactly what members of the Government know needs to be done and ought to be done. Instead, in this debate Government member after Government member has spoken about a consistent approach or a comprehensive plan. We know that they do not actually have an approach or a plan; that is the really shameful thing about this debate. Members opposite have spoken about something that they are going to do.

I remind members that this Liberal-Nationals Government has had the levers of power for 8½ years, during which they should have come up with a plan. People are appalled by this inaction and they will continue to be appalled if government members choose to oppose this bill today. Communities will be appalled because communities right across this State want to catch up and join with the rest of Australia in banning single‑use plastic bags in the State. But those on the other side of the Chamber cannot bring themselves to support a bill brought to this place by the Labor Opposition. This is our bill. I have offered it to the Minister. I said he could name it whatever he liked. He could call it the "Matt Kean for Premier Bill" or he could call it the clean air strategy—he does not have one of those either.

Many press releases have been issued about all the things the Government is going to do. I am offering the Government the opportunity to support this bill today because the bill will actually do something and put words into action. There has been a lot of talk about the Government's intention to come up with a plan, which will be a holistic response. We on this side of the Chamber cannot believe that the Government does not have a plan. Yes, there needs to be a plan, but there is nothing stopping any government member from taking a step towards doing the right thing today. It would be a single step towards what will be no doubt be part of the Government's plan, banning single-use plastic bags in New South Wales. Right here, right now those opposite can take some positive action.

Everybody in this Chamber knows—even those who spoke against the bill—that single-use plastic bags should not be used and should be prevented from entering into our environment. The member for Rockdale reminded me moments ago about something that those of us who represent coastal electorates are seeing in our communities. Turtles are dying and it has been found that they have died because they ingested thin plastic bags. The Government's failure to support this bill will mean that the deaths of marine animals will continue. The failure to support this bill will mean that plastic bags will continue to enter our waterways. We know that every week that we delay banning single-use plastic bags in New South Wales, an additional 230,000 bags go to landfill and potentially enter our waterways. Those are 230,000 plastic bags that will enter into our landfill and waterways next week which the Government can prevent today, right here, right now, but they just cannot bring themselves to support this bill.

There has also been a lot of chest beating about other initiatives that are underway and one of them in particular that has been mentioned is the waste levy. I remind members that almost $800 million was collected from across this State by the Government last year from the waste levy, which the NSW Environment Protection Authority says will go towards waste‑reduction programs. Less than a third of that $800 million has been returned and is now going towards waste-reduction programs—less than a third. That means more than two-thirds of the Government's waste levy has gone straight to the Consolidated Revenue Fund. This is a tax on the citizens of New South Wales.

There are so many opportunities, programs and industries crying out for additional support so that we can become the circular economy that the former environment Minister mentioned today. She said she introduced this to New South Wales, but that is not happening because there is no investment from the Government into the industry and the sector that needs this investment to make it happen. When it comes to plans or action on protecting the environment the Government is sorely lacking. Shameful contributions have been made by Government members, who know that this ought to happen. They have been directed not to vote for this bill purely because of politics. Today we had the biggest demonstration of petty politics ever. Government members know that single‑use plastic bags should be banned in New South Wales.

While every other State and Territory has done it already, New South Wales is the environmental laggard because it has failed to move on this. We are serving up an opportunity for the Government today to actually do something but instead we hear about plans that it does not have. I make a final plea to Government members to look into their consciences and to remember the faces of the students who were in the gallery moments ago and who all would have wanted the Government to support this bill today to ban single-use plastic bags in New South Wales. They get it, they understand, though they probably cannot understand the politics that will prevent this from happening today. But this is one last plea to back the communities that Government members represent, to back the environment, to back the students who were in the gallery today and to back Labor's bill to ban single‑use plastic bags today.

TEMPORARY SPEAKER (Mr Greg Piper):

The question is that this bill be now read a second time.

The House divided.

Ayes37

Noes48

Majority11

Motion negatived.