Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to 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?

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

Thank you, Senator Whish-Wilson, who I understand is one of the two Greens spokespeople for environmental matters.

Nick McKim (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All 10 of us are.

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

You've got 10—it's Scott Morrison-esque, the number of shadow ministers for the environment in the Greens. I'm happy to meet with all of you individually!

I welcome the question from Senator Whish-Wilson and, in particular, his inquiry about how Australia can be taken seriously on the international stage about these matters. I can assure Senator Whish-Wilson, having recently attended the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, that we are internationally seen as a world leader when it comes to these matters. What was very clear at that conference was that the commitments Australia has made, in general, around ocean protection matters—including our commitment to pass legislation to see the ratification of the high-seas biodiversity treaty—are very much welcomed. The action that we've taken as a member of the High Ambition Coalition, when it comes to the plastics treaty that Senator Whish-Wilson is asking about, is also very much welcomed.

I participated in an event at that conference that included representatives of upwards of 80 countries who are members of the High Ambition Coalition for signing that plastic treaty. Senator Whish-Wilson is correct that, in the next few weeks, the treaty will be up for discussion at the relevant conference in Geneva. That is not a conference I will be attending, because I will be hard at work here in Australia, but we do take these matters about plastic pollution seriously, and I do seriously welcome the interest from Senator Whish-Wilson, who I know cares about these matters very deeply. The reality is that plastic pollution is a global problem; it's going to need global solutions. But we are, in the meantime, getting on with work domestically. I'm happy to talk more about that should there be some further questions.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Whish-Wilson, first supplementary?

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

Minister, I'd be happy to go in your place, if that helps. It does stick out like a sore thumb that, while claiming to be a driving force behind the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution globally, your government has not legislated binding action on reducing plastic pollution at home. Minister, will you today take the opportunity to show the necessary leadership by committing to this chamber to legislate reform to tackle the plastic-waste crisis in this term of parliament?

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

Thanks, Senator Whish-Wilson. Of course, I would expect Senator Whish-Wilson to focus on particular aspects of this issue that the government continues to work on. But I think it is worth reminding the chamber that, even in our first term of office—under Minister Plibersek in this portfolio—Labor delivered over $1 billion with governments and industry to boost recycling by 1.4 million tonnes per year, including $60 million for soft plastics, and created thousands of new jobs in the process. We have also been working with states and territories to reform packaging regulations with strict new rules and targets in addition to the work we have been doing on the international stage for a binding treaty.

I acknowledge that there is still more to be done on those matters, but we did take action in our first term to get this process underway after, yet again, it was ignored for 10 years under the coalition, and we expect to continue that work over the course of this term. I would be more than happy to speak further with Senator Whish-Wilson about our plans in this regard, and I would welcome the Greens' support to back in those efforts as well.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Whish-Wilson, a second supplementary?

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

We will certainly look forward to some legislation on this. It has been widely reported that the Global Plastic Treaty negotiations have so far failed to achieve any binding action between nations because big business, who produce and retail plastic, have flooded the negotiations and undermined outcomes, insisting on weak voluntary agreements. Is the resistance to lobbying from big business at home in Australia also the reason that, after three years in government, you have been unable to take action on legislating to end the plastic waste crisis?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to 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.