Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to talk about an issue that is particularly important as the Christmas holidays draw near, with some families doing it especially tough—and that is food wastage. I'm proud to have once again partnered with Foodbank Queensland for their annual Christmas donation drive. My office will be taking donations of non-perishable goods until 12 December. Every donation will be going out to people in need this Christmas. Last year, my office was inundated with generous donations. I want to thank the Bonner community for giving so freely. No doubt my constituents' generosity will shine through again this time around. People can donate anything from canned vegetables, pasta sauce, rice, jams and spreads to tinned fruit, long-life products and other non-perishable food items.

It's staggering that over 600,000 people in Australia, one-third of them children, seek food relief from charities every month, while Australia produces enough food to feed 60 million people a year. Food wastage costs Australia $20 billion a year and seriously harms our environment. That is why this government is developing a national food wastage strategy, with the goal of halving food wastage by 2030. I commend Foodbank for taking a leading role in the development of this strategy. The government is convening a national food waste summit next month, and I look forward to seeing some great results from that.

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