Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to raise an issue which has serious environmental and economic impacts on our nation: tyres or, more importantly, the importation of second-hand tyres, the importation of blemished and old stock tyres, the lack of Australian design rules on tyres, the opportunity to create a circular economy; and the costs of local councils and communities of millions of dollars a year through the illegal dumping of tyres. These were issues I raised with the previous government but didn't even get the courtesy of a reply.

Recently I've met with tyre industry leaders including: Lina Goodman, CEO of Tyre Stewardship Australia; Silvio department Denaro from the Australian Tyre Council; David Hickey from One Michelin Group; the former vice president of Goodyear Dunlop, Lou Mandacini. We all agreed there was a great opportunity to address the urgent need for cleaning up the waste and illegal dumping of tyres in our nation, illegal dumping costing millions of dollars every year.

Although tyre in manufacturing in Australia ceased back in 2010, there are many involved in the industry who are committed to taking responsibility for tyres through the supply chain. This includes voluntary participation in Tyre Stewardship Australia, a scheme which was proposed to drive sustainable outcomes for end-of-life tyres. Tyre Stewardship Australia and the VACC support a view that businesses operating in Australian retail tyre markets should be required to demonstrate a professional commitment to achieving an sustainable outcome for end-of-use tyres. It involves the participation of many family-owned and operated businesses, including tyre retailers and recyclers who operate in our electorate and across the country. It's the involvement of these small businesses that make the voluntary scheme operationally possible but they are paying the price for the free riders who avoid costs and compliance responsibilities by illegally dumping tyres. You would think this sort of program would be something supported by both sides of politics.

In the most recent year, 2022-23, Australia's recovery of used car, bus, automotive tyres has gone backwards. It dropped to 80 per cent from the 2019 2019-20 peak of 90 per cent. The remaining 20 per cent equates to 1.3 million car tyres being stockpiled, illegally dumped in landfill or hidden in warehouses on industrial sites, unsuspecting land-owner properties and even in our national parks. There is a significant cost for local governments in having to collect illegally dumped tyres, and this runs into the millions of dollars each year, ultimately costing ratepayers millions of dollars that could otherwise be used on improving services. We have already seen where illegally-collected tyres have been stored in warehouses and then set alight, costing millions of dollars in emergency services and health costs as well as the damage done to our environment and the price the communities have to pay as they deal with this thick wretched smoke for days. This is why the TSA supports their voluntary scheme becoming a mandatory one, one which if properly regulated would mean all of the participants in the tyre industry pay their fair share.

The CSIRO research also recommends enacting not only a regulated tyre stewardship scheme but one that also includes the banning of landfilling and on-site disposal of end-of-life tyres and conveyor belts to support the value recovery and market development. A regulated scheme would open up opportunities for an enhanced tyre recycling industry in which more end-of-life tyres could be recycled and manufactured into value-added products in Australia, such as in concrete, footpaths, playgrounds and as a tyre product fuel. This would create economic and employment opportunities while also contributing to net zero emissions targets and the creation of a circular economy. This is particularly relevant given the recent announcement by the Treasurer and the environment minister that the Productivity Commission will inquire into the economic benefits of a circular economy. As the Treasurer noted, by reusing and recycling more of our waste, we can create more opportunities right through the supply chain for Australian companies and Australian workers. The tyre industry certainly has a role to play in this.

The tyre industry has been pretty clear it is prepared to be part of the government's plan to boost circularity across the Australian economy with benefits of supporting an established industry that will help create sustainable and stable Australian jobs growth. I welcome the work being done by the environment ministers in this meeting but I believe Australia should stop the importation of second-hand tyres and ensure that tyres that do come to this country are fresh, and meet our proper design rules and our standards. If the EU can do it; Australia should be able to as well.

House adjourned at 20:00