Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

After a decade of neglect on recycling, making progress towards a circular economy is back as a priority for this federal government. The reality is we have a plastics problem in Australia. We produce too much and we don't reuse what we already have. If we don't act, we face a future where plastic will outweigh fish in our oceans by the year 2050. If we don't act, we will see more videos of dead turtles and dead sea that having their stomachs cut open to reveal a rainbow of micro plastics—animals that have either starved to death or choked on plastic. If we don't act, we will continue to see the average Australian ingest a credit card's worth of micro plastics each week. It is for horrific reasons like these that the people of my electorate want to reduce waste and use fewer disposable items in the first place. But we have to set up our economy to help them to do so.

It is time to get serious about reducing waste and that's why I am seconding the motion by the member for Fremantle. I thank him for bringing this important issue to the chamber. The motion outlines what the Albanese government is doing to address the woeful state of soft plastic recycling after a decade of inaction by the former coalition government. The cornerstone of the Albanese government's commitment to the circular economy is the $250 million Recycling Modernisation Fund. This will be underpinned by an agreement with state and territory environment ministers to reform the regulation of plastic packaging by 2025. We are also establishing a national task force on the circular economy to reduce waste and pollution, to improve product design and to transition to a true eco-friendly economy.

These reforms build on the $60 million of funding in last year's budget, which will be a catalyst for state-of-the-art advanced recycling solutions. These actions reflect our commitment to make up for the past decade of inaction and to take action to resolve problems created by the collapse of REDCycle. This includes bringing the supermarkets together and creating a task force, which has made strong progress already. Woolies and Coles announced they will take responsibility for the thousands of tonnes of soft plastics stockpiled in warehouses across the country. Earlier this month the task force released a roadmap with a path forward to resume soft plastics collection. The task force also announced that Woolies and Coles will start collecting soft plastics in select stores by the end of the year and expand in 2024 as more recycling infrastructure is available in Australia.

We are committed to helping the supermarkets resume collection of soft plastics and we welcome announcements that the supermarkets remain committed to this. These acknowledge the frustrations of people across the nation who recycle, who are responsible but who are now questioning the commitment. We must establish Australia as a global leader in this space as we move forward. That's why last November we joined our international partners in the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution by 2040. We signed the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, fulfilling the promise of the Minister for the Environment and Water at the UN Oceans Conference that Australia would sign up too by the end of last year.

These commitments are all part of this government's ambition to re-establish a circular economy. We are supported in these efforts by many in our regions. With rapid population growth, five of my local G21 municipalities are looking to build a $15 million regional waste resource recovery and re-use hub, which would be a 250-million-tonne facility. This would establish the foundations for a circular economy in my electorate, stabilising costs and, importantly, reducing landfill. From the federal to the local level of government, this nation is showing a commitment to reviving the circular economy and nurturing a sustainable region.

I'll conclude by quoting the Minister for the Environment and Water, who has said that she wants to see a plastic-free Pacific within our lifetime. With the Albanese government's actions in this space, we are well on the way. And we don't have a choice. We must do so if we are going to sustain our planet and the lives of all people who live on it.

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