Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I might start with a question for the minister on these amendments. Perhaps I could very quickly run through this, because it's the most common question I get asked by people: 'What does a single-use plastic ban actually mean?' The media say: 'What are you actually going to ban?' So, very quickly, by 1 January 2022, this exemption would ban lightweight carrier bags—some of which have been banned in states, but not comprehensively—and microbeads, which are still part of a voluntary scheme and haven't been totally banned. By 1 January 2023, in three years time, six-pack plastic ring holders would be banned. If you don't think they're bad news in the oceans, go onto my Instagram—I'll give myself, Senator Surfer, a plug—and have a look. There's a bit of joviality there, but the picture is very serious. It's a photo of a fairy penguin in my home state of Tasmania taken by a friend of mine, a bushwalker. He runs a big shop in Launceston and is quite well known. The penguin's been choked by one of the six rings; the other five are sticking out from around its neck. You can clearly see where this poor distressed bird has suffocated from plastic ingestion, like—and I don't exaggerate this—millions of other sea creatures. We know hundreds of thousands of birds alone die from plastic ingestion, not to mention other creatures who cross paths with a whole range of different plastics in the ocean.

So we want to remove cotton buds; balloon sticks; straws; stirrers; cutlery; plates, bowls and other dishes; polystyrene food and beverage containers; and oxo-degradable food and beverage containers. I will state that, even in the recent Western Australian government ban, they highlighted the need for federal coordination at some stage. So here is my question to the minister. These are products that have readily available alternatives, and the list is based on the EU legislation. Minister, are you familiar with the directive of the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on the reduction of the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, commonly referred to as the EU directive, which was passed in March 2019 and formally adopted by the Council of the European Union in May 2019? Are you aware of the details of that legislation and the fact that they banned these harmful single-use plastics to protect the ocean?