Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I seek leave to incorporate answers to questions taken on notice from Senator Ludlam earlier this week regarding the Northern Territory's container deposit scheme.

Leave granted.

The answers read as follows—

The Minister for Sustainability, Environment Water, Population and Communities has provided the following answer to the honourable Senator's questions.

Question 1:

A spokesperson for Coca-Cola Amatil has reportedly claimed that the Northern Territory container deposits law breaches the Commonwealth Mutual Recognition Act and the company is reportedly planning legal action against the Territory's scheme. Has the Commonwealth government received any legal advice on the matter? If not, will the government seek legal advice on this matter?

Question 2:

To what extent has Coca-Cola Amatil made representations to the Commonwealth government on this matter?

Question 3:

Has the company made any threats of legal action during the EPHC process or any of the RISs or any of the other stultifying series of processes that this thing has been subjected to?

Question 4:

At any time has Coca-Cola Amatil made direct representations to the government?

ANSWERS

Question 1: The government has not received legal advice on this matter and is not planning to seek advice at this stage.

Question 2: Coca-Cola Amatil has not made any representations to the government on the reported planned legal action against the Territory's scheme.

Question 3: No.

Question 4: Coca-Cola Amatil is a stakeholder in the current process of developing a Consultation Regulation Impact Statement to examine options for addressing the environmental impacts of packaging, including national container deposit legislation. Like other key stakeholders, it has made representations to government throughout this process.