Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

The cost of A4 paper purchased by the department and its agencies for each financial year since 2008-09 is:

The quantity (in reams) of A4 paper used by the department and its agencies for each financial year from 2008-09 is:

During 2010-11, as part of its implementation of the government's sustainability policy, the department adopted a range of specific environmental initiatives that have reduced paper usage. For example, it has retired over 500 desktop printers, introduced new centralised 'print on demand' technology, defaulted all printers capable of duplex printing to duplex and encouraged staff to limit the volume of printed material. In addition, the department has adopted a paper sustainability policy which focuses on purchasing 80% recycled A4 paper and 10% recycled A3 paper.