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

I have to respond to that. I won't disclose the details of our conversation this morning. May I say One Nation have had these amendments for nearly two months. We've been speaking to their office for many, many weeks, as have a number of stakeholders, speaking to their excellent advisers, who I believe supported these amendments. I don't know what your reason was, Senator Roberts, for turning your back on the recycling industry tonight and the 60,000 Australians it employs, but I hope they note your excuse that you've just given for not supporting this, that somehow you've bought the packaging industry lies and disinformation that this is going to add extra costs to business. I was very clear that industry themselves said it wouldn't. It excludes small businesses, and I went through that with you ad nauseam this morning, Senator Roberts. It's clear you've made up your mind: you've chosen to side with the big packaging companies and with the government. You've turned your back on it, and now you're trying to make excuses and work your way through. There is no evidence at all that this is going to add to the costs. We're taking an existing process and mandating it—that's all we're doing. I don't know how many times I have to explain it to you, but I'm sure no matter how many times I do it's not going to sink in. That's all I have to say.