Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Hansard source

I do have to take issue with Senator Whish-Wilson's characterisation of this, because it is not the case that this government has failed to take action on these matters. In my previous answer I went through some of the steps that we had taken in our first term to deal with the very real issue of plastic pollution, along with a range of other steps we had taken in relation to recycling in the circular economy. We recognise that there is more to do, and we will be doing more over the course of this term in partnership with the states and territories, who have a lot of responsibilities as well when it comes to these matters and waste matters in general. I am aware that, as we see at many international conferences, some countries aren't as supportive of action as Australia is and as many other nations are, but we will be working very closely with those other members of the High Ambition Coalition to get that plastics treaty done and to really take another step towards better regulation of plastics in the future.