Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to continue my remarks on this report. I am very pleased that the ANAO has done this very important report. Leading by example and using purchasing policy is a very good way of not only setting an example about environmental practice but also practising what you preach. I am pleased that, as outlined in the report, ‘the Australian government has indicated that it aims to be at the forefront of environmental purchasing practice’, and the report goes on to list some measures.

I was grossly disappointed, when I read the audit report, to see that the government are actually not practising what their policy has in place. The report points out that Australian government agencies purchased goods and services to the value of $17 billion in 2003-04. That is a lot of money, and that is a lot of purchasing power that could be used to set a very good example by leading the way in environmental practices.

The report goes on to look at some of the key findings. It explains that chief executive instructions and internal policies, as you could imagine, are critical for ensuring that government officers practise environmental purchasing. Unfortunately, the report points out that half of the respondents indicated they did not have instructions or internal policies in relation to whole of life cycle costing. The report found:

In addition, less than half of respondents had references to minimising environmental impacts and compliance with government policies and targets.

That is absolutely shameful. Here we have a government that claims that it aims to be at the forefront of environmental purchasing practices, and half the respondents do not have any references in their policies to minimising environmental impacts or compliance. The report goes on to say:

… 25 per cent of respondents commented that green procurement policy was not sufficiently clear or precise in terms of what is required …

In other words, of those respondents that do have policies, 25 per cent of them are inadequate. That is extremely disappointing. When you go on through the report to look at environmental management systems—which are another key requirement for ensuring environmental purchasing and environmental practice—you see that only 45 per cent have an environmental management system in place. In other words, less than half have these practices in place.

If you look at some of the big areas that can deliver environmental outcomes—for example, motor vehicles—not only had government services not improved, they had got worse. Environmentally sensitive vehicles had decreased from 17.9 per cent to 12.5 per cent.

If you look at energy efficiency, another key area where we could practise what we preach, protect the environment and lead by example, only 21 per cent of office tenancies had energy efficient lighting installed. That is one of the simplest things to do. You just have to go down to the supermarket to buy energy efficient bulbs. Let us start there. Of course, you should have an energy audit done, but you can start the process just by going out and buying energy efficient bulbs. There are other things you can do to ensure an energy efficient office, but you could go down to the supermarket to start this process. With only 21 per cent having energy efficient lighting, it scares me to think what they do with their computer monitors, leaving things on standby—those basic things you can do to establish a green office.

This report is extremely disappointing in that it does not go any stretch of the way to ensuring that the Australian government is at the forefront in environmental purchasing practice. I am hoping that after the next audit the ANAO will have a much more positive report and that the government will have taken a much stronger, more proactive approach to ensure that, across portfolios, all agencies are striving to meet that aim and that they are truly putting in place a green office and green office procurement practices. I hope that each agency head will, as a requirement, meet green office procurement policies, have a demonstrable practice in place, and have targets that each of their agencies is required to meet. I think it is disgraceful that this report could be so bad when the government had 10 years to get this process right. It is disappointing that we could have such a negative outcome. I encourage the government to take a more proactive approach to green office procurement.

Question agreed to.