Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the new minister for the environment and water, Minister Watt. Studies have shown that toxic microplastics are infiltrating our lives—our brains, blood, placentas and lungs. Some projections have oceans containing more plastic than fish by 2050. Next week, your department—or you, potentially—will attend the final round of negotiations in Geneva to develop a global plastics treaty to end plastics pollution. The Albanese government has claimed to be a leader in these negotiations to date, pushing for legally binding action, not simple voluntary agreements, to reduce plastic pollution in our lives. Minister, do you think Australia's credibility on the global stage is undermined by Australia currently having no legally binding laws of its own at home—specifically, no federal bans on harmful single-use plastics, no legally binding national waste-reduction targets and no legal agreements that hold big producers and retailers responsible for the plastic that they produce and pollute with?