PARTNERING WITH BIG BUSINESS TO BRING DOWN POLLUTION

A Shorten Labor Government will work with Australia’s biggest industrial polluters to help them cut their pollution, grow their business and create a cleaner future for the next generation.
Ignoring climate change isn’t the answer. 
Real action on climate change isn’t just about protecting our environment – it’s about future-proofing our economy and protecting jobs.
Under the Liberals and Nationals industrial pollution has risen by 17 percent, and their own projections show it will rise all the way to 2030.
That’s why Labor will work in partnership with business to help bring down pollution – providing overdue policy certainty and helping the industrial sector plan for the future.
There will be no carbon tax, carbon pricing mechanism, or government revenue.
Rather, Labor will reduce pollution from the biggest industrial polluters by extending the existing pollution cap implemented by Malcolm Turnbull – the safeguard mechanism.
The safeguard mechanism was established under the Liberals and Nationals to cap industrial pollution for the biggest polluters, by setting pollution limits or ‘baselines’ for covered facilities.
However, the Liberals and Nationals have failed to make this mechanism effective in bringing down pollution, or incentivising reduction of pollution below a facility’s baseline.
Labor has listened to industry and stakeholders who desperately want stability after this chaotic government – they don’t want to start from scratch with another mechanism. Industry feedback has been unanimous, businesses want Labor to expand the safeguard mechanism, and we’ve listened.
Labor will expand the safeguard mechanism to make it effective and relevant:

  • Coverage will be extended to apply to the biggest industrial polluters. Labor will work with industry to extend coverage to a threshold of 25,000 tonnes of direct CO2 pollution annually, and we will consult with industry on this coverage threshold and how it is phased in. It’s estimated around 250 of Australia’s biggest industrial polluters would be captured by this threshold – just 0.01 per cent of all businesses. The agricultural sector will not be covered by the expanded safeguard mechanism, and Labor will work with the red meat industry-owned Research and Development Corporation, Meat and Livestock Australia, to help it meet its commitment to be carbon neutral by 2030. Likewise, electricity sector facilities will not be included – they will be covered separately by Labor’s Energy Plan.

 

  • Pollution levels will be reduced: Labor’s safeguard mechanism will reduce industrial pollution in line with Labor’s targets – fixing one of the biggest issues with the current safeguards mechanism, its failure to bring down pollution. Labor will consult with industry on the baselines and trajectories that apply to each covered entity.

 

  • Businesses will be able to earn credits for overachievement: Labor will allow for businesses to earn credits and be rewarded for reducing pollution below their baselines, which they can sell or carry over to meet their future pollution cap. This means businesses can make money out of cutting pollution.

 

  • Emissions intensive trade exposed industries (EITEs) will be supported to keep Australian businesses competitive – In recognition that emission intensive trade exposed industries face particular challenges in reducing pollution while maintaining their international competitiveness, Labor will provide tailored treatment for EITEs such as steel, aluminium and cement. This will ensure they face comparable impacts from climate change policies as their competitors do in relevant international markets. Labor will also establish a Strategic Industries Taskforce and $300m Strategic Industries Reserve Fund to support these industries in finding solutions to cut pollution and remain competitive.

Labor will consult with industry and experts on baselines that should apply to individual entities and how they will decrease over time.
In addition, Labor will put in place a well-functioning offset market and reinvigorate the land offset market.
Currently, a facility that emits more than its baseline must offset excess emissions by purchasing offsets, primarily from the land sector. But currently businesses cannot access international offsets, or offsets from the electricity sector.
Labor will make it easier for covered businesses to meet any offset obligations, not only by allowing for the creation and sale of offsets if emissions fall below baselines, but also through the purchase of international offsets and potentially offsets from the electricity sector.
We will also boost offset supply through revitalising the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI) – including reforms to strengthen the integrity of the CFI, and increasing land and other sector abatement opportunities. This will include exploring the establishment of ‘premium’ land sector credits to provide substantial environmental, biodiversity and other co-benefits, establishing a Carbon Assessment Standard to boost the bankability of offset projects, and re-vitalising offset methodology research and development with an additional $40 million in funding over four years.
Labor’s plan will help industry reduce pollution at least cost, and give traditional owners, farmers, the forestry industry and traditional owners new opportunities to earn income.
Labor will also abolish the Liberal’s ineffective and expensive Emission Reduction Fund (ERF). The ERF has failed to drive down Australia’s emissions, while costing Australian taxpayers $2.25 billion, with the Liberals pledging a further $2 billion for this ineffective policy.
Labor’s approach isn’t about punishing polluters, it’s about partnering with industry to find real, practical solutions to cut pollution, in a way that protects and grows industry and jobs.
The Liberal Party is full of climate sceptics and hopelessly divided on climate change – Scott Morrison even brought a lump of coal into Parliament instead of a climate policy.
The Liberals and Nationals have pushed up power prices and pollution by undermining investment in renewable energy and backing power privatisations – and their chaos and division means industry can’t adequately plan and invest in the future.
There is only one major political party serious about real action on climate change – Labor. That’s because we are determined to pass on a better deal to the next generation – and we will partner with business and industry to achieve it.
Only Labor will deliver real action on climate change and lower pollution, lower power prices and a stronger economy.
More information is available at  https://www.alp.org.au/climate_change_action_plan

LABOR WILL ACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND HAND A BETTER DEAL TO OUR KIDS

A Shorten Labor Government will reduce pollution, invest in renewable energy and take real action on climate change – to ensure we hand on a better deal to the next generation.
After six years of chaos, uncertainty and rising pollution under the Liberals, Australians need stability and certainty on climate change policy – that’s what our plan delivers.
Ignoring climate change is simply not an answer.
Australia needs leadership – to protect jobs, grow the economy, cut pollution and deal with more extreme weather like droughts and floods, with natural disasters already costing the economy $18 billion a year.
At the same time, Australian households are seeing their power bills soar – families and businesses are taking this into their own hands and backing renewable energy because they know more renewables means lower power prices.
Labor is committed to reducing Australia’s pollution by 45 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030 and net zero pollution by 2050.
We are also committed to 50 per cent renewable energy in our electricity mix by 2030.
Labor’s plan will tackle climate change to keep the economy growing by:

  • Investing in renewable energy and batteries to grow jobs and cut power bills  With almost two million Australian households having solar panels, Australians are enthusiastic adopters of renewables. Labor will empower Australians to take advantage of cheaper, clean renewable energy and storage, by offering $2000 rebates for solar batteries for 100,000 households, with a target of 1,000,000 batteries by 2025. We will also double the original investment in the Clean Energy Finance Corporation by $10 billion, supporting new generation and storage across the country. Labor’s investment will support our target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030 for the nation’s electricity generation, which will see cleaner and cheaper power and more than 70,000 new jobs.

 

  • Boosting clean transport and infrastructure– A key part of tackling pollution will be tackling transport emissions – which make up almost 20 per cent of Australia’s emissions and one of the fastest growing sources of pollution. Labor will implement Australia’s first national electric vehicle policy, setting a national electric vehicle target of 50 per cent new car sales by 2030 and introducing vehicle emissions standards to reduce pollution and make the cost of driving a car cheaper for consumers.

 

  • Working in partnership with business to help bring down pollution – Labor will reduce pollution by big polluters over the decade by extending the existing pollution cap implemented by Malcolm Turnbull – the safeguard mechanism. Australia’s biggest industrial polluters (about 250 – or just 0.01 per cent of all businesses) will be covered by Labor’s scheme, which will not include the agricultural sector. Pollution caps will be reduced over time and Labor will make it easier for businesses to meet these caps by allowing for industrial and international offsets. Facilities can also earn credits and make money from reducing pollution below their baselines. Labor will not introduce a carbon tax or new a carbon pricing mechanism and our reforms will not raise any government revenue.

 

  • Supporting trade exposed industries to keep Australian businesses competitive – Emission intensive trade exposed industries (EITEs), such as steel, aluminium and cement, face additional barriers to cutting pollution while staying competitive in global markets. In recognition of this, Labor will provide tailored treatment for EITEs under the extended safeguard mechanism. This will ensure they face comparable impacts from climate change policies as their competitors do in relevant international markets. Labor will also establish a Strategic Industries Taskforce and $300m Strategic Industries Reserve Fund to support these industries in finding solutions to cut pollution and remain competitive.

 

  • Helping the land sector to cut pollution while giving farmers and the forestry industry new opportunities to earn income – No one knows our land better than our farmers – they’ve been leading the way in responding to climate change. The agricultural sector will be exempt from the expanded safeguard mechanism – we won’t have targets for farmers. Labor wants to see Australia’s land sector supply more affordable offsets for pollution, which will reduce the cost of abatement for business and give farmers and regional communities greater economic opportunities. We will review and reinvigorate the carbon farming initiative, and develop a high-quality, well-functioning offset market. Labor will also put in place new federal legislation to bring broad-scale land clearing under control. Where states properly regulate land clearing, such as in Queensland, Labor will take no action.

In addition, Labor has taken the decision not to allow the use of Kyoto credits to meet its Paris targets. By allowing the carryover of Kyoto credits, the Liberals’ already weak target effectively falls from 26 per cent to 16 per cent. Using Kyoto credits is fake action on climate change, and Ukraine is the only other country in the world to confirm they will do this.
Labor will restore and reform important institutions like the Climate Change Authority, and to make sure we can adapt to a changing climate, we will conduct the first ever comprehensive Climate Change Assessment on the likely and potential impacts of climate change on all aspects of Australian life.
Our policy has been developed in consultation with industry and experts, and it builds on already announced policies like our Energy Plan and Hydrogen Plan.
It’s a good plan for families, for industry – and for the planet.
The Liberal Party is full of climate sceptics and hopelessly divided on climate change – Scott Morrison even brought a lump of coal into Parliament instead of a climate policy.
The Liberals have helped push up power prices by having 13 different energy policies, undermining investment in renewable energy, supporting taxpayer money for new coal plants and backing power privatisations.
There is only one major political party serious about real action on climate change – Labor.  That’s because we are determined to pass on a better deal to the next generation.
Only Labor will deliver real action on climate change to deliver lower pollution, lower power prices and a stronger economy.
More information is available at  https://www.alp.org.au/climate_change_action_plan

$324 billion reasons the PRRT is a joke

Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, today commented on new tax statistics released by the ATO revealing tax credits to oil and gas giants have ballooned to $324 billion.
“The PRRT is the most egregious rort in the Australian tax code.
“The failure of successive Liberal and Labor governments to address this problem has resulted in oil and gas companies accumulating a whopping $324 billion worth of tax offsets.
“This equates to around 70% of the Commonwealth Government’s total revenue.
“The Government’s Bill scheduled to be debated in parliament this week will raise only $6 billion in additional revenue over ten years.
“While the world is in the middle of an LNG boom, we’re practically giving the stuff away.
“The fundamental flaw with the PRRT is the overly generous uplift rates applied to carried-forward expenditure which is used to offset taxable income.
“Most problematic are exploration expenses which compound at 15% above the long-term bond rate, and can be transferred from one project to another within a company.
“On current trends, it is an open question whether PRRT tax offsets will ever be expired. Some companies might ride a multi-decade long boom and end up tax positive.”

Greens say Labor dishes up dog's breakfast of Liberal leftovers on climate

Greens’ climate change spokesperson and Co-Deputy Leader, Adam Bandt, said that Labor’s climate announcement today was a jumble of Liberal party ideas without any plan to transition out of thermal coal. Mr Bandt also said his party would oppose the ‘fake action’ of international offsets contained in Labor’s plan. The Greens will work to kick Scott Morrison’s government out but then toughen up Labor’s proposals in the Senate.
“There are a couple of good ideas here, but overall this is a dog’s breakfast of Liberal party leftovers, with no plan for coal and no hope of meeting the Paris Agreement goals,” said Mr Bandt.
“Coal is the single biggest contributor to climate change. If you don’t have a plan for coal, you’re not serious about climate change.
“The Liberals love coal and Labor won’t say its name, but without a plan to transition out of coal, we will not meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.”
‘Safeguards’
“The NEG and so-called ‘safeguards’ were created by the climate change-denying Liberal party and should be put in the bin, not reheated by Labor and served up as a climate policy.”
“By adopting the ineffective safeguard mechanism with huge carve outs for some sectors, it looks like the free ride for big business in this country on climate will continue under Bill Shorten.
International offsets
“Labor has also confirmed it will adopt a dodgy accounting trick that even Tony Abbott opposes by allowing business to use international offsets.”
“International offsets delay climate action in Australia. More coal will be burnt at home and the transition to 100% renewables will be delayed.”
“We cannot outsource our emissions reduction obligations to a pig farm in Ukraine.”
“The Greens welcome Labor’s rejection of the dodgy carryover credit scam, but international offsets are also ‘fake action’ because Australian polluters will buy overseas permits from other countries but keep polluting at home.”
The passage of Labor’s plan through Parliament
“I’m desperate to turf to the conservatives out, but I’m bitterly disappointed Labor isn’t taking the climate emergency seriously, hoping that being only slightly less bad that the Liberals will be enough to get them elected.”
“Labor is still jumping at Tony Abbott’s shadow, unwilling to put together a coherent economy-wide climate policy at the very time the public mood has shifted in favor of strong action and a carbon price.”
“This announcement shows why you need Greens in Parliament. The Greens will work towards a change of government then, in the Senate, toughen up Labor’s poorly cobbled-together patchwork of Liberal party policy rejects.”
Electric cars
“Not only does the target lack ambition, but the policy lack mechanisms that would get us even close to 50% electric vehicles by 2030,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens transport and infrastructure spokesperson.
“Labor’s EV announcement is nothing but an attempt to grab some headlines on climate change without any actual substance.”

Labor’s weak EV policy lacks mechanisms on achieving their EV target, leaves Australia stuck in the slow lane, say Australian Greens

Labor’s electric vehicle policy including a target of 50% by 2030 is weak and lacks any clarity or mechanisms to achieve the target, say the Australian Greens.
“Not only does the target lack ambition, but the policy lacks mechanisms that would get us even close to 50% electric vehicles by 2030,” said Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens transport and infrastructure spokesperson.
“We have the opportunity to join countries like Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Ireland which have a target of all new vehicles sales being electric vehicles by 2030. This is also what the NRMA is calling for.”
“Labor’s target is weak and leaves Australia stuck in the slow lane.”
“Labor’s 105g CO2/km light vehicle emissions policy won’t play a part unless it is introduced immediately and ramped up over time. Where is Labor’s timeline for implementation?”
“This is a weak electric vehicle target for Australia, when we already have the lowest uptake of OECD countries and other countries are zipping us by with bold, ambitious EV policies that are working.”
“Labor’s EV announcement is nothing but an attempt to grab some headlines on climate change without any actual substance.”
The Australian Greens electric vehicle policy includes:

  • setting a target of 100% of new passenger vehicles being electric by 2030
  • strong vehicle emissions standards of 105g CO@/km by 2022
  • removing import tariffs and other taxes such as GST, stamp duty and registration,and
  • rolling out fast charging infrastructure.

One-Off Energy Payment to Help 3.9 Million Australians With Their Next Energy Bill

More than 3.9 million Australians will receive a one-off Energy Assistance Payment to help with their next energy bill and cost of living expenses.
The payment of $75 for singles and $125 for eligible couples will be exempt from income tax and will be paid automatically before the end of the current financial year, subject to the passage of legislation.
The Government is able to deliver this assistance because our responsible budget management allows us to guarantee the essential services Australians rely on.
It will provide additional support to:

  • 2.4 million Australians receiving the Age Pension;
  • 744,000 recipients of the Disability Support Pension;
  • 280,000 carers receiving the Carer Payment;
  • 242,000 Parenting Payment Single recipients; and
  • 225,000 veterans and their dependants receiving eligible payments from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Guaranteeing essential services is part of our plan for a stronger economy and securing a better future.

A SHORTEN LABOR GOVERNMENT WILL INTRODUCE A DOMESTIC BAN ON ELEPHANT IVORY AND RHINOCEROS HORN

A Shorten Labor Government will work with Australia’s states and territories to implement a domestic ban on Australia’s commercial trade in elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn
While the poaching of elephants and rhinos might not be an issue in Australia – the trade of products containing ivory and rhino horn is. Australia’s domestic market is unregulated and there’s nothing to stop people buying and selling products containing ivory and rhino horn if they manage to get them into the country.
Elephant and rhino populations in Africa and Asia have continued to decline and elephants and rhinos continue to be targeted for their ivory and horn: in the six months during which the inquiry took place (April-October 2018) 10,000 elephants were killed across the African continent, and in South Africa alone, approximately 528 rhinos were killed.
A 2018 Parliamentary Inquiry into the trade in Australia looked at online traders, auction houses and antique dealers in Australia, identifying illegal domestic markets for ivory and rhinoceros horn worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. These markets continue to fuel the poaching crisis of elephants and rhinos in Africa.
While ivory and rhino horn continue to maintain a value in marketplaces around the world, poachers will continue to kill these iconic species.
Australia, as a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species(CITES), prohibits the import, export or possession of ivory and rhino horn “harvested” after 1975, but when such an item finds its way into the country the domestic market is unregulated.
Currently, there is no legal requirement for Australian sellers to provide any evidence at the point of sale demonstrating the legality, provenance or age of items containing elephant ivory or rhinoceros horn. That means post-1975 ivory and rhinoceros horn items can easily be passed off as antique, circumventing Australia’s current laws.
Labor’s commitment is in line with the UK Government’s recent ban of its domestic ivory trade. The United States, China, Hong Kong, France and Taiwan have also all implemented domestic bans.
In the past four years, nearly 36,000 people have written to the Australian Government supporting a domestic ban, while a Galaxy Research Poll conducted last year suggested that 86 per cent of Australians want the trade banned. However, that same poll found that 77 per cent of Australians thought that trading in elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn within Australia was already illegal.
Labor will work with states and territories to:

  • Develop model legislation to be adopted across Australia, banning the trade in elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn.
  • Ensure there are well-targeted exemptions for museums and cultural institutions, antique musical instruments with small ivory content, portrait miniatures more than 100 years old, and other antiques with minimal ivory and rhino horn content.
  • Develop appropriate penalties and new offences for individuals and companies which circumvent the ban

Today’s commitment supports the bipartisan recommendations from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement’s 2018 inquiry into the trade.
Labor’s implementation of a domestic ban on Australia’s commercial trade in ivory and rhinoceros horn will help the international efforts to save these iconic species for future generations, before it is too late.

LABOR’S PLAN TO CREATE A CLEANER AUSTRALIA

A Shorten Labor Government will make Australia a world leader in tackling plastic use and boosting recycling – investing $290 million to cut waste and handing on a cleaner Australia for the next generation.
Labor will protect our vulnerable wildlife and reduce the amount of waste generated by putting in place a national ban on plastic products like microbeads and single-use plastic bags.
Plastic has a devastating impact on our natural environment – more than a thirds of the world’s sea turtles were found to have plastic waste in their stomachs, and it is estimated around 90 per cent of seabirds eat plastic waste.   Plastic breaks up into smaller pieces over time,  becoming harder to manage and clean up and filtering through to waterways, lakes and oceans.
That’s why Labor will introduce a national ban on lightweight, single use plastic bags and microbeads from 2021. We will consult with states, territories and industry on how best to do this. This will create a consistent approach across the country – following moves of many state and territories to phase out single-use plastic bags, as well as manufacturers phasing out microbeads.
In addition, Labor will also implement a broader Recycling and Waste Strategy, including:

  • The creation of a National Container Deposit Scheme – Labor will work with COAG to ensure states with existing schemes are consistent. These schemes incentivise recycling, and increase the quality of recyclables by separating out materials – making it far cheaper to be able to recycle in Australia. One of the reasons Australia exports so much waste to be recycled overseas is the cost of sorting materials so they can be recycled. States without a scheme will not be forced to participate in the national scheme, but will be invited to join.
  • Establishing a National Waste Commissioner – To work with states and local government and help educate the community on solutions to waste. The Commissioner will also be charged with working with industry on the expansion of schemes for the recycling of products when they are at the end of their use – the Product Stewardship Schemes.  There are existing schemes for TVs, computers and mobile phones – the Commissioner will look at the expansion of these schemes to other products which are currently ending up in landfills at alarming rates – including e-waste, batteries, and whitegoods such as microwaves. The Commissioner will cost $15 million over six years.
  • Investing in the domestic recycling industry – Labor will invest $60 million National Recycling Fund. This will fund projects to encourage recycling, including funding for innovative waste solutions, local government recycling facilities and material processing facilities, and new approaches to tackling food waste. A Labor Government will engage with industry, the research sector and the wider community to integrate waste processing and recycling into a 21st century industrial system, based on Industry 4.0 principles. Already used materials and products will be reprocessed and integrated back into the economy for greater productivity. This shift must take place across the full range of manufacturing industries – steel and aluminium, chemicals, plastics, automotive and electronics. It will require a focus on innovation and development of capabilities, at the industry and the enterprise levels, and the acquisition of new capabilities will in turn create new job opportunities.
  • Tackling marine plastics through $15 million to assist our neighbours clean up the Pacific Ocean –  Recent media notes that there is an estimated 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, weighing 80,000 tonnes in the Pacific Ocean. The Australian Marine Conservation Society estimates there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050. As an island continent and developed country Australia has a responsibility within our region to clean up our oceans. This will see Australia play its part in our region by funding international efforts to reduce marine litter through the United Nations Environment Programme, regional and bilateral assistance to Pacific nations, and funding of efforts to clean rivers and waterways in Southeast Asian neighbours, including through ASEAN-led initiatives.
  • Setting targets for government to purchase recycled products – As one of Australia’s largest procurers, there is an opportunity to make the Australian Government a national leader in waste and recycling by prioritising the purchase of recycled products. Labor will also ask the Infrastructure Department to investigate whether recycled products can feasibly be used as road base for infrastructure projects.

Today’s announcement builds on Labor’s plan to clean up Australia’s urban waterways and stop plastics from reaching our oceans through our $200 million Urban Rivers and Corridors program – partnering with community organisations and environmental groups to revitalise the nation’s waterways and make them safe and clean places.
Last year COAG agreed to a set of 2025 targets to reduce plastics – including that 100 per cent of all Australia’s packaging will be reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025 or earlier. Labor endorses these targets. The Federal Government has been missing in action – Labor’s plan will provide the national leadership needed to get the country on track to meet our 2025 targets.
Australians want action from government to help reduce waste and build a circular economy. So while many Australians do their duty – they recycle, compost, use keep cups for their morning coffee – we need the government to take a leading role to tackle some of the big, structural problems.
For too long, the federal government has left issues of recycling, plastics and waste to state governments and local governments.  And, while local and state governments have generally moved in a positive direction, plastics and waste are now becoming both a national and international problem.
We will pay for this plan by making multinationals pay their fair share and closing tax loopholes used by the top end of town.
Only Labor is committed to delivering a better deal to the generation.

STEPHANIE GOTLIB

Today we recognise Stephanie Gotlib’s incredible dedication and service to the disability community, as she prepares to step down as the CEO of Children and Young People with Disability Australia (CYDA).
For more than 10 years at CYDA, Stephanie has been a fierce and consistent advocate for children and young people.
She campaigned for the creation of the NDIS – and along with thousands of parents and children across the country, has continued to work just as hard to get the Scheme back on track.
Whether it is fighting against unfair changes to child care, or arguing the case for better funding and support for school students with disability, Stephanie has contributed intelligently, passionately and honestly to the policy debate.
She calls it as she sees it – always putting children and young people with disability first.
Stephanie has changed minds and hearts on the importance of inclusive education and the right of every child to be treated as a learner.
She has also exposed terrible injustices and highlighted to the whole community just how much more Australia needs to do – in our schools and more broadly – in order to be a genuinely inclusive country.
For years, Stephanie has argued for the establishment of a Royal Commission into the abuse, neglect and violence perpetrated against people with a disability.
It is a testament to her persistence and determination – in partnership with others – that this important inquiry is now supported across the Parliament.
Stephanie is a genuine leader who is respected by people across the sector and in government.
Thank you Stephanie. And all the best in your next endeavour, we know you will continue to make a difference.

Greens urge Labor to go further on waste plan

Waste & Recycling spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, today welcomed Labor’s new commitment to tackling Australia’s waste crisis but urged them to go further.
“After more than 10 years of gathering dust under successive Labor and Liberal Governments, the Greens welcome Labor’s new commitment to kickstarting parts of the 2009 National Waste Plan.
“Although Labor’s commitment is a step in the right direction, it doesn’t go anywhere near far enough to tackle the waste crisis, and I urge any future Labor government to look at the Greens’ private members bill to ban other single-use plastics, not just plastic bags and microbeads.
“The Greens’ private members bill is closely modelled on ground breaking EU legislation, which has now passed into law.
“The Greens welcome the adoption of our initiative to set up a recycling research fund but urge Labor to make sure this invests heavily in scientific research that better understands the impacts of toxic plastics, as well as research and development on solutions to fix this scourge.
“Relentless pressure over many years from the Greens, environmental NGOs, community groups and individuals around the nation have made this happen, and they should all feel proud about getting Labor onboard with this first step.
“If we are going to solve the national waste crisis much more work needs to be done.
“The Greens have played a critical and constructive role in getting this first outcome and we will be working hard in parliament to make sure Labor goes through with their election initiatives.
“The Greens note Labor’s election initiatives mirror the key recommendations from the 2016 Greens-initiated Senate inquiry, ‘Toxic Tide’.”