Mrs BRAHAM - 2007-11-28
This is another plus for the Alice Springs Town Council, which introduced a trial of recycling cans with a grant from the Northern Territory government of $10 000. In a short term of four weeks, 200 000 cans were passed in by residents to claim the 5 return. You know South Australia has a successful CDL scheme. Western Australia has just introduced their extended producer responsibility, which imposes an obligation on companies to reduce waste, which could lead to CDL. Now that we have the new Labor government, do you think in 2008 you could introduce CDL for all the Territory?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for her question. This government has a very proud record of introducing recycling programs across the Territory through the EnvironmeNT Grants scheme. It is an important scheme and we have seen a lot of very exciting initiatives across the Territory, including the initiative in Alice Springs that you mentioned.
Member for Braitling, you have participated, as I have, in plenty of debates about container deposit legislation in this Chamber. A jurisdiction the size of the Territory going it alone does not stack up. If we were part of national container deposit legislation, it will work. That is what the Environment ministers have been debating. However, what was the sticking point in the past? Johnnie Howard did not care about it.
We have an opportunity, there is no doubt about it …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: We have an opportunity to bring that debate back to the Environment Ministerial Council where it has been in discussion for some time now and to test where it is going to head in terms of a national scheme. It is a national scheme that will work for the Territory. That is a direction about which the previous minister for the Environment has had discussions at the national level. The Territory will continue to discuss with our colleagues and the new federal government a national scheme.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Braitling for her question. This government has a very proud record of introducing recycling programs across the Territory through the EnvironmeNT Grants scheme. It is an important scheme and we have seen a lot of very exciting initiatives across the Territory, including the initiative in Alice Springs that you mentioned.
Member for Braitling, you have participated, as I have, in plenty of debates about container deposit legislation in this Chamber. A jurisdiction the size of the Territory going it alone does not stack up. If we were part of national container deposit legislation, it will work. That is what the Environment ministers have been debating. However, what was the sticking point in the past? Johnnie Howard did not care about it.
We have an opportunity, there is no doubt about it …
Members interjecting.
Madam SPEAKER: Order!
Ms LAWRIE: We have an opportunity to bring that debate back to the Environment Ministerial Council where it has been in discussion for some time now and to test where it is going to head in terms of a national scheme. It is a national scheme that will work for the Territory. That is a direction about which the previous minister for the Environment has had discussions at the national level. The Territory will continue to discuss with our colleagues and the new federal government a national scheme.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016