Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Muir for the question. The Australian government strongly supports recycling and sustainable use of any products under the National Waste Policy: Less Waste, More Resources. The Australian government works with the states and territories to support key national waste priorities, including approaches to sustainable procurement. Substantial improvements in recycling have been progressed through the Australian Packaging Covenant and the newspaper industry's national environment sustainability plan which sees around 80 per cent of all newspapers recycled across Australia. In conjunction with industry governments have also continued to support a number of recycling initiatives, including the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme and a national tyre recycling scheme, and we are progressing work on batteries, paint and plastics.

Although we have achieved significant outcomes nationally in relation to paper recycling rates, we are looking to do better. The ICT Sustainability Plan 2010-2015 is managed by the Minister for the Environment and was completed by 30 June 2015. I understand the plan was ceased to reduce internal government regulation and reporting and, therefore, the onus on agencies to comply and report against the metrics under the plan will also cease. The plan required general use office paper to have a minimum post-consumer recycled content of 50 per cent by July 2011 with progression to 100 per cent post-consumer recycled content by July 2015. Value for money is of course a core rule of the Commonwealth Procurement Rules. The assessment of value for money includes relevant financial and non-financial considerations such as environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and environmental impact. I might just say here that the Commonwealth Procurement Rules incorporate the relevant provisions from Australia's international agreements and, without the use of local preferencing, Australian suppliers are well represented with 94 per cent of Commonwealth procurement contracts, according to the most recently available data, awarded to suppliers in Australia. (Time expired)