Josh Wilson (Fremantle, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

This is a particularly important amendment because, if the minister's priority list is to work in the way that the government has explained, there has to be a tight relationship between that list, as it's updated on an annual basis, and the National Waste Policy Action Plan. As I said earlier, the APCO targets in relation to packaging are incorporated within the National Waste Policy Action Plan. They are not just worthy targets, they are necessary targets. As I said before, the elimination of harmful and unnecessary plastic by 2025 is going to happen very soon. The minister's priorities will not be effective if, at various points along the way, the government and the minister aren't realistic about the progress that is being made. We are at 16 per cent of plastic packaging recycling now. If in 18 months we have crept our way up to 25 or 30 per cent, it's very hard to see how we can get to 70 per cent by 2025. At the moment, without considerable action that varies a great deal from what industry and producer groups have done today, it's pretty hard to make a case for saying that we will eliminate harmful and single-use plastics by 2025. It's really important that, as we watch those targets and their time lines, the minister's priority list picks up quite sharply and urgently the need to hasten things along if the 'tap the watch and waggle the finger' aspect of the changes that are being made doesn't produce the results lickety-split.

Question agreed to.

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