Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

I'll indicate Labor's voting position. We oppose these amendments. When it comes to lifting waste and recycling, as I've made clear all through this evening, the current labelling regime falls a long way short of what's required. But this is a complex issue, and it can't be fixed by forcing plastic manufacturers to apply some form of warning message on their product that risks further complicating a current mess of labelling features. Poor product design—and it is about design—means that, for some packaging, only certain elements of the product are recyclable. That forces us to use very complicated labelling that makes it very difficult for consumers to understand what they are supposed to do with the product in their hand—a conversation I have with my family on a very regular basis. We would like to see a comprehensive review of label packaging. We think that's necessary to determine what kind of reform would be sensible and effective. We call on the government to undertake a full review of product labelling that would drive change through consumer choice and greater transparency, increase proper sorting and disposal, and allow responsible producers to be recognised for making sustainable product decisions.