Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) discarded plastic, glass, cardboard and aluminium beverage containers are detrimental to the environment and represent a valuable economic resource;

(b) Australians use more than an estimated 13 billion beverage containers a year, which represents over 35 million beverage containers used every day;

(c) South Australia's container deposit legislation, the Beverage Container Act 1975, later incorporated into the Environment Protection Act 1993, became operational in 1977 and has now operated to great environmental and social effect for 41 years;

(d) South Australia leads the nation in the recovery, recycling and litter reduction of beverage containers with an overall return rate of 79 per cent;

(e) a major survey in 2012 demonstrated a 98 per cent level of support from South Australians for a national container deposit scheme;

(f) in 2016-17, South Australian collection depots recovered almost 587 million beverage containers (43,298 tonnes) for recycling and over $58 million was refunded to South Australians, especially to community groups, charities, and sporting clubs;

(g) beverage containers have been estimated to make up only 2 per cent of litter in South Australia, compared to 43 per cent in NSW prior to the introduction of their container deposit scheme; and

(h) according to the 2016-17 National Litter Index, the Northern Territory has seen a 50 per cent decrease in beverage containers as litter since the introduction of their container deposit scheme;

(2) congratulates South Australia, the Northern Territory, and now the ACT and NSW, on their successful container deposit schemes, and welcomes the upcoming introduction of schemes in Queensland and Western Australia;

(3) calls on the Tasmanian and Victorian governments to enact a container deposit scheme and to do so with speed and urgency; and

(4) calls on the Australian Government to work with the state and territory governments to begin implementation of a National Container Deposit Scheme before the next federal election.

This makes good cents, and that's 'cents'—c-e-n-t-s. South Australia is very proud of its container deposit recycling scheme. Australians use more than an estimated 13 billion beverage containers each year, which is over 36 million beverage containers every single day for 41 years. That's right, since 1977, when people were still wearing flares, each generation of South Australian kids has been crunching cans on the pavement or under the back veranda for that extra bit of pocket money. For decades, the Scouts and other community groups have fundraised with recycling bins at their local fairs, shows and other community events to keep our state of South Australia clean and to give back to our community. In 2016-17, South Australia's collection deposits recycled almost 587 million beverage containers, refunding over $58 million to South Australians, particularly charities, community groups and sporting clubs, and directly providing additional income for the most disadvantaged in our community.

The South Australian deposit scheme is a simple and elegant policy. It is an effective public policy and creates so much good for South Australia. It's a great wonder to me that it took decades for other states and territories to realise the benefits. Firstly, it creates significant public environmental amenity. Since our deposit scheme began, you only have to travel interstate to see the big difference in cleanliness between public places in South Australia and other states. Beverage containers account for less than three per cent of South Australia's litter, compared to 43 per cent in New South Wales before it adopted its own scheme in 2017. The Northern Territory has seen a 50 per cent decrease in beverage-container litter since the introduction there. It raises environmental awareness on the issues of waste and has built a culture of intolerance to litter in South Australia. The scheme emphasises the importance of—and the community pride we have in—keeping our public spaces clean. It also directly benefits our environment. As a result of our container deposit scheme, South Australians have a recycling rate of cans and bottles of up to 85 per cent while the rate in other states is less than half.

I've spoken before about the need for us to reduce plastics and, in particular, how much of a detrimental effect occurs when plastics get into our waterways. Anyone who has seen the straw in the turtle's nose on the ABC's War on Waste knows exactly what I'm talking about. Aluminium is an energy-intensive product to make, and so recovery of aluminium cans significantly reduces our carbon emissions and helps us meet our Paris commitments. Given Australia's recent potholed history on climate change action—or, rather, lack thereof—we need every bit of help we can get.

Lastly, as I indicated previously, the scheme puts money back into the community and to organisations and individuals who need the help the most. I was heartened to hear ACT and New South Wales have recently got onboard to have their own container deposit schemes, and Queensland and Western Australia have also realised how great South Australia's scheme is. However, just like with the ban on lightweight plastic bags, we still have our recidivist states—Tasmania and Victoria.

I said before that South Australians are proud of our container deposit scheme. A major survey in 2012 discovered that 98 per cent of those surveyed support this policy. It is a rare public policy indeed that secures a 98 per cent commitment from the community. Young people, particularly in my electorate of Mayo in South Australia are also incredibly supportive of the scheme and so are many schools that I visit. So I call on the Tasmanian Premier and the Victorian Premier to adopt what is an effective and popular policy, and for the federal government to help facilitate a national container deposit scheme so that all Australians can benefit from what generations of South Australian kids have known as a good idea for more than four decades. As I said, it just makes cents!

Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. It gives me great pleasure to second this motion from the member for Mayo, and I thank her for bringing on this private member's motion. I agree with it wholeheartedly. I am disappointed that my state of Tasmania does not have a container deposit scheme in place; it is high time that we did. At my party's Tasmanian state conference, held last month in Hobart, the Brighton-Bridgewater Branch, which is in my electorate, proposed that Labor support a CDS in Tasmania. I'm pleased to say the conference unanimously supported that motion. I thank the secretary of the Brighton-Bridgewater Branch, Darren Clark, who works with me in my federal office, for moving the motion. I add my thanks to Mark and Ange, the founders of the Bridgewater/Gagebrook Clean Up Group, who were instrumental in the branch taking up the call.

Mark and Ange have been calling for a CDS in Tasmania for some time. They have won various community awards for their hard work, which involves remediation of foreshores, collecting litter and abandoned trolleys, and reporting the whereabouts of burnt-out stolen cars. Also important in their work is picking up the many, many plastic bottles that are discarded in our waterways. Mark and Ange are two terrific people who are determined to make their home a better place to be, especially for kids. They are on the frontline of keeping our community free of litter, and they have my respect and thanks.

So what is a container deposit scheme? Beverage makers essentially put the price of a can or a bottle of, usually soda, up by a few cents—say, 10 cents—when the empty can or bottle is returned to a collection point, whoever returns it gets that 10 cents back, or they can nominate that it be given to charity. If the person who paid the deposit chucks the container away, then someone else has the opportunity to pick it up and retrieve the deposit. It's polluter pays at its simplest. It is also an example of product stewardship legislation, in which the beverage industry is obliged to take greater responsible for its packaging after it has been sold. It is the beverage suppliers—like Coca-Cola Amatil and Schweppes—that must ensure that a system is in place for the recovery and recycling of their empty beverage containers. Beverage makers moan and whinge about these schemes because it costs a little bit more money to set them up, and they make them put up the headline price of their product. It may well affect their sales to some minor degree, but my response to that is, 'Suck it up, Princess.'

Container deposit schemes were first implemented in South Australia in 1977. Over the decades they have spread to the Northern Territory, in 2012; to New South Wales, in 2017; and to the Australian Capital Territory, in June 2018. Queensland has announced it will pursue a scheme in partnership with New South Wales for implementation by 1 November 2018. Western Australia has also announced plans for a scheme, commencing in early 2020. Attempts to introduce similar legislation in Tasmania and Victoria have, unfortunately, been unsuccessful to date. Victoria did have a similar scheme in place in the eighties, called Cash for Cans, but it was later rescinded.

I grew up in the outer suburbs of Perth, in Western Australia, in the late seventies and the eighties, and well remember picking up old cans of Pinto—now Solo—Passiona and Fanta and taking them to the deli to collect 5c a pop; just enough for a bag of lollies! Scout groups organised collection drives, and it wasn't uncommon to see trolleys filled with cans. It turns out that the deposit scheme back then wasn't legislated, because the cans back then were steel—it was really hard to crush those cans, I tell you!—and it was in the companies' financial interest to have them returned and recycled. The introduction of thin aluminium cans and plastic bottles saw the companies' dedication to recycling evaporate; it was cheaper to replace them than recycle them. It's now up to the government to remind our corporate beverage makers of their responsibility to a clean environment.

We have the people on our side. Surveys consistently show that most Australians support deposit schemes. A national scheme has been proposed many times over the years. Frankly, a national scheme would be best, and that's where this parliament comes in. It really is time for the national parliament to take carriage of this; the state governments are all over the place. It really is time for the national parliament—through COAG, I would suggest—to get on board. It's time for this parliament to show some bottle and back a national container deposit scheme.

Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the comedic member for Lyons.

Nick Champion (Wakefield, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's certainly a great pleasure to rise and speak on this motion moved by the member for Mayo. I thank her for bringing it to the House, because what it celebrates is the great achievement of Labor state governments in South Australia. Indeed, hearing previous speakers talk about this, it's a point of reflection to remember that this scheme was introduced in 1977 by the Dunstan government. Dunstan had previously put it up in 1975, and it was rejected by the then Liberal and Country League in South Australia—they used their majority in the upper house to reject it. This was far-sighted legislation to be introducing in 1975. It was pushed through after the election in 1977, and it became one of the first of its kind in the world; the place it was based on was Oregon, in the United States of America. It was introduced, basically, to curb roadside litter.

It's also worthwhile reflecting that in 2003 another Labor government, the Rann government—and Premier Rann had worked for Premier Dunstan as a press secretary and was a follower and an admirer of Premier Dunstan—extended the legislation by broadening the legislation to incorporate fruit juice, non-carbonated drinks and flavoured milk containers under a litre volume. That's very important because, in South Australia, copious amounts of Farmers Union Iced Coffee is drunk.

Ms Madeleine King interjecting—

I hear my colleague from Western Australia talking in admiration of it! It outsells Coke in South Australia, I think. In 2008, importantly, the scheme was expanded from 5c a container to 10c a container. I heard the previous member talking about collecting cans and bottles. I think most of us in our youth in South Australia might have done that at one time or another, collected the odd bottle or can. Of course, many people do it for beer money—they put them out the back in the shed and what not. In South Australia you quite often see people who are obviously pensioners or who are unemployed doing it. When I am driving around the country areas of my electorate, it's not uncommon to see people going along with a sack, collecting all the beer bottles—mainly beer bottles, I think, but also iced coffee containers—which get thrown out of cars and what not.

One of the things in South Australia that we really have had, particularly in comparison to other places, is we've prevented a lot of litter going into the natural environment because people have been out there collecting these cans and bottles. Sometimes it's been community groups who've benefited from it, sometimes it's just been young people or people who've made a habit of collecting them and not throwing them in the litter, but sometimes it's been something of a social welfare policy too because, of course, the people who collect these cans and bottles can often get enough cash to provide them with a bit of a bonus to get them through one bill or another. So this is a very important bill.

Waste Management Review, on May 17, under the title 'What South Australia can teach us', said:

Now in 2018, the CDL program is still going strong. The return rate on drink containers is reaching 80 per cent. Since 2005, more than six billion containers have been diverted from landfill and returned for recycling.

There's been an enormous dividend over the years, since 1977 onwards, to South Australia. I'd heartily endorse all the state governments who've copied, perhaps belatedly, South Australia's example. It has certainly encouraged Victoria and Tasmania to follow suit. While a nationally consistent scheme would be desirable, my understanding of it is you need the state governments on board to be able to legislate these sorts of things. It is a good example of how incorporating the cost of waste management and the cost of recovery into a manufactured good is good for the environment, good for the economy and good for society.

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I, too, rise in support of the member for Mayo's motion before us today, here in the Federation Chamber. We heard the previous speaker, the member for Wakefield, tell us about the importance of container deposits. He also gave us a bit of the history of this container deposit scheme in South Australia, which we are very proud of and which we heard began over 40 years ago in 1977 under an act called the Beverage Container Act 1975. Later, it was incorporated into the Environment Protection Act as well. So South Australia has always led the way on issues involving the environment. We led the way on container deposits and we led the way on single-use shopping bags, which is another way of preventing plastics getting into our waterways and into the sea. We heard the member for Mayo talk about turtles that get tangled up because of the tonnes and tonnes of plastic that go into our waterways and end up in the seas. South Australia also led the way on household composting.

When it comes to the environment, it's a no-brainer for South Australians. We've done this, we've perfected it and we will keep on doing it. It is a good example for other states that haven't taken it on board of how it works. As kids—I did it myself—we would look for bottles and containers et cetera to go and get some money to be able to go to the movies, for example, and people still do it today. It helps to clean the environment, it prevents damaging the environment and it's aesthetically clean as well. You look at your streets and your roads and you don't see much rubbish around the place because people know that there is a value on it, and people will pick up rubbish or keep it to either deposit or put in a recycling area.

It's shocking and incredible that for over 35 years South Australia was the only state or territory in Australia with a container deposit scheme. I know that in 2011 the NT came on board and introduced its own scheme. Proving there's no such thing as too late when it comes to the environment, New South Wales in 2015—a bit late—announced its intention for a container deposit scheme. We know that Queenslanders can claim a 10c refund for most plastic drink containers, beer bottles and aluminium cans. The ACT came to the recycling party earlier this year. It's great to see that other states are following the lead of South Australia, my home state, on the option to impose a simple deposit, which ensures that the environment remains cleaner.

As the member for Hindmarsh, I've always strived to protect our environment, including the beautiful pristine beaches that we have in our country. This scheme plays a big part in keeping our beaches clean and pristine for families and the community to enjoy. As the Labor candidate for Adelaide I will continue to stick up for the important environmental issues, including the River Murray and the River Torrens. The member for Mayo shares similar concerns regarding pollution and water flows.

Another iconic body of water in the city of Adelaide that I'll be keeping a close eye on is the River Torrens. Adelaide was built on the River Torrens, and over the years industries have built on the banks of River Torrens because they required water to run their industry, as old style industries did. The Torrens has benefited greatly from the container deposit and the clean-up that's taking place. We can always do better, and I look forward to working with Adelaide City Council to make sure our city environment is of a world-class standard.

It's no mistake that Adelaide is known as one the cleanest and tidiest place in Australia, and we're very proud of that fact. One of the contributors to our being one of the cleanest and tidiest places in Australia is that, 40 years ago, someone had the vision to implement a container deposit scheme, which kept the state clean. We lead the nation in the recovery, recycling and litter reduction of beverage containers, with a current overall return rate of nearly 80 per cent—that is, 80 per cent of containers sold are returned through the deposit scheme. In addition to its benefit for the environment, the scheme also has benefits for local community groups like the Girl Guides and the Scouts that collect bottles, or you can take bottles to them for deposit for their use. Groups collect these bottles, and it is a very positive thing. I'd ask any state that's not on board to come on board.

Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.