Julian Simmonds (Ryan, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm very proud to speak in support of the Recycling and Waste Reduction Bill 2020. This is a subject which I and many of my constituents in the Ryan electorate are very passionate about. This legislation will go a long way to improving waste practices and changing the way in which we look at waste reduction and recycling in Australia. I want to acknowledge at the outset that the bill is the result of not just the incredibly hard work of the minister sitting at the table today, Minister Ley, but also the hard work of my good friend and neighbouring MP Trevor Evans. Minister Evans's appointment as the Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management is telling of the Morrison government's commitment to waste management practices in this country, ensuring that we continue to live in a clean, green and sustainable Australia.

We recently welcomed Minister Evans in a visit to the Ryan electorate. We were very pleased to have him on the banks of the beautiful Brisbane River, down there at Indooroopilly. The local creek catchment groups, in association with cleaner waterways associations, had discovered a very large rubbish patch on the banks of the Brisbane River. Minister Evans rolled up his sleeves and collected a fair bit of rubbish, as did I, and the crew was out there on the boat picking up rubbish as well. It's a great reminder to everybody in the electorate of Ryan and in the other electorates that front onto the Brisbane River catchment of the importance of keeping waste out of the waterways and the importance of continuous vigilance.

The Recycling and Waste Reduction Bill 2020 identifies the necessity for us, as a nation, to look after the waste that we produce and to deal with it here in Australia. In doing so, we will not only be taking responsibility for managing the waste that we produce, but we will be doing so in a way that is environmentally conscious and can further stimulate the economy and jobs, no doubt making Australia a global leader in this space. The bill will ensure that Australia's waste management reduction will be a truly transformative shift in our nation's approach to waste. It has the support of federal, state and territory governments as well as local governments. However, what will ensure the longevity of this bill in creating an ongoing shift in waste management practices is the years of extensive consultation with industry and business, which will see the positive benefits of this bill continue long into the future.

This bill isn't just great for the environment; it is great for creating jobs—a priority of the Morrison government that is more important now, as we work our way through the COVID recession, than ever before. This legislation will go a long way to stimulating the economy and stimulating employment in the area of processing our waste. It is projected that the waste export ban will generate an extra $1.5 billion in our economy over the next 20 years and create hundreds of jobs. Let me say that again: the waste export ban will generate $1.5 billion in our economy and create hundreds of jobs. That's what you get from this side of the chamber; that's what you get from the Morrison government—a commitment not only to reducing our waste and to being environmentally sustainable but to do it in a way that creates jobs, supports industry and supports our economy. This is certainly no small sum. It just goes to show that, when there is a government and a side of politics that works with industry, as this side does, rather than trying to dictate to it, we can achieve outcomes that are mutually beneficial for business, consumers and, importantly, our environment.

As I know Minister Evans knows, this government's pragmatic approach to policy has meant that we are going to have resoundingly better outcomes for business and the environment in a way in which the Labor Party were never able to emulate during its time in government, in a way in which the Labor Party can simply never achieve. They like to talk big when it comes to the environment. They like to talk it up. They like to have all the show and pomp and ceremony and all the rest of it, but when it comes to actually delivering practical outcomes, it's the coalition governments of this nation that have delivered some of the most substantial, practical outcomes on the ground, while the Labor Party are too busy talking themselves up on this particular issue. That's why it's this government, a coalition government, that has delivered the first waste reduction bill, which we are debating today—another milestone in environmental management for our nation, delivered by a coalition government, not the Labor Party opposite, who like to stand up at every election and say they're the only ones in the world who can save the environment or who care about the environment and that the rest of us are philistines and all the rest of it. They couldn't deliver. They had plenty of chances. They were in government in the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. They could have delivered Australia's first waste reduction bill. Did they? No. It is this government, the coalition government, the Morrison government, with the help of Assistant Minister Evans, who have taken the steps to deliver it. It's been achieved because we're working in a consultative manner with the industry and their reps. We're allowing for reasonable time frames to transition to our phase-out goal of 2024. Rather than dictating to industry with heavy handed taxes and unnecessary regulation, which is the Labor way—if they see a problem, they've got to regulate their way out of it or tax their way out of it—we've ensured that we've enshrined in this bill that there is a way to have a more efficient and long-term change than has ever been achieved when it comes to environmental management by the Labor Party.

The Recycling and Waste Reduction Bill 2020 accepts that our country's management of waste and recycling is not perfect, and we take responsibility for the fact that we need to manage the waste that is created within our borders and we need to do it better. As a responsible actor in the international community, the government has acknowledged the impact that we as a nation have had in generating waste which negatively impacts our regional environment. The Morrison government has accepted that this is a vital challenge that we must tackle. We know that this is an opportunity in time to step up to the plate as a developed nation, to lead the way in forging a strategy, via this bill, that can be emulated by our regional partners. By banning the export of waste in this manner, we're being both environmentally conscious and recognising the impact of our waste but doing so in a sustainable manner that will bring industry with us, that won't destroy jobs and that will allow businesses a reasonable time to adjust their business model and their employment opportunities.

We recognise that businesses, in particular small businesses, are the backbone of our economy and face enormous pressures in keeping millions of Australians in work, particularly during this time of the COVID recession. But we do ask that business take responsibility for their own waste. This will be achieved through incentivising businesses to recognise the impacts of their product and where they end up throughout the entirety of the product's life cycle. So many businesses have done so much in recent years, proactively, to this effect. They have much to be proud of in terms of what they have done already, and we are proud of what they have achieved. This bill goes further and incentivises businesses to audit their own products and recognise the impacts they may have later in the product's life cycle. Through working in lock step with affected businesses and industry, we will then be able to achieve better outcomes by taking collective responsibility.

This is a plan that will ultimately divert 10 million tonnes of waste from landfill to be reutilised in a more sustainable fashion. Diverting 10 million tonnes of waste—that's the merit of this bill. It's extraordinary and it's going to make a remarkable impact on the face of Australia in waste management. The Recycling and Waste Reduction Bill looks at waste recycling differently and acknowledges the potential opportunity rather than the burden waste presents. We previously looked at waste as a problem rather than an opportunity for further utilisation.

Brisbane City Council, which I had the pleasure to be part of for almost 10 years, has been doing incredible work for some time from a local government perspective when it comes to environmental management and waste reduction. They are an important partner with the federal government. Under the leadership of Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner they have developed a strategy to incorporate over 20,000 tonnes of salvaged glass from landfill into road base and, in the process, they have saved their ratepayers $3.6 million. This is the kind of innovative stuff that can be done when you view waste as an opportunity—an opportunity to save money and to create jobs—and you take that approach rather than viewing it as a burden.

Brisbane City Council, with the assistance of federal government funding, has also developed a trial to incorporate discarded car tyres into bitumen, to make use of a discarded tyres and in doing so create a formula which will make bitumen more durable and longer lasting. These are innovative and forward-thinking approaches from a local government. We have seen the same sort of innovative and forward-thinking approaches replicated by local governments around Australia. They are saving tonnes of waste from going into landfill and saving ratepayers' dollars as well.

I would also like to acknowledge Brisbane City Council's leading efforts in Australia as Australia's first carbon-neutral council. The first carbon-neutral council in Australia is not a Labor council. It's an LNP council. An LNP council that has had LNP leadership since 2004 has been the first council to take the step to be entirely carbon-neutral. That's the difference between Labor, who are all talk on this issue, and the coalition and LNP parties, who are about practical steps and implementation.

But it's not just local government and federal government who are doing their bit. Many major supermarkets have incorporated soft-plastic bins into their shopping centres to make it easier for consumers to dispose of plastics which are not recyclable, electronic stores are taking in unused mobile phones and even Rotary clubs across the country are collecting bottle tops to be reused for prosthetic limbs. So there are some fantastic stories out there to be told, and we need those individual efforts to continue. The bill won't replace them. The bill will simply work in conjunction with them by bringing together industry, business and government so that we can collectively work to create better outcomes for the environment, create jobs and save taxpayer dollars in the long term.

I know that Assistant Minister Evans has worked hard to ensure that the industry has a realistic time frame in which to meet the requirements set. The ban on unprocessed mixed plastics will be in force under this bill by 1 July 2021, on whole used tyres by December 2021, on single resin or polymer plastics by July 2022 and on mixed paper and cardboard by July 2024. It's an ambitious but reasonable time frame that will allow businesses to judiciously adjust to those new bans. As the party of small business, we know that it is only when businesses are brought into the conversation we can successfully achieve our goals. The ban placed on waste products is restricted to unprocessed materials, and businesses will still be able to apply for licences to export processed waste that is in line with industry standards if they are willing to do the work to process the waste in a way that is environmentally sustainable.

Collectively, with this bill we will divert over 10 million tonnes of waste, create over 10,000 jobs, pump an extra $1.5 billion into the economy and, most importantly, help safeguard our environment for future generations. The residents of my electorate of Ryan aren't single issue focused. They care about all these things. Of course they care about supporting their environment, but they also care about creating jobs. They also care about a strong economy. The fact this government is able to achieve all of those goals together by working with industry and by enshrining it in this bill is an incredibly clear testament. It's a clear testament that it's only under the stewardship of an LNP government that we can create such a universally accepted approach to waste management. The Morrison government will continue to work tirelessly to create pragmatic policy that is good for the environment, good for the economy and good for jobs, and on that note I commend this bill to the House.

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