Ms BURNET (Clark) – Honourable Speaker, I would like to bring the attention of the House to the Auditor General’s scathing report into the management of Tasmanian landfill sites tabled in this House today. The report spells out how a chronically underfunded Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is unable to enforce or even detect environmental breaches at landfill sites owned and operated by councils who are so lacking in strategic guidance from the state government that they are looking to other jurisdictions for best practise.
I note from submissions and comments received, the last point on page four is there were no responses from Break O’Day Council, the Minister for Environment, or the Minister for Local Government. That says quite a lot about the inappropriate and very slow response in relation to waste by this government.
Tasmania has the lowest resource recovery rate in the country, with half of our waste going to landfill. Almost half of this is organic waste, and we don’t even have the appropriate levels of food organic collection across much of our councils. This is releasing a lot of methane which is many times more dangerous than carbon dioxide when it comes to greenhouse gas effects on climate change. This green waste could be diverted into industrial composting.
The waste industry says there’s no chance of hitting the national target of reducing landfill waste by 50 per cent by 2030. They say that what’s needed is a nationally consistent approach to popular programs like container deposit schemes and landfill levies and strategic statewide leadership when it comes to tackling waste.
We know how successful the recycle rewards program launched on 1 May has been. It was delayed, but Tasmanians overwhelmingly want to do the right thing when it comes to waste, this has reduced a lot of roadside waste and diverted a lot from landfill.
Tasmanians have a high rate of recycling clothes and love op shops and tip shops, but government leadership is required to divert more waste from landfill.
Just as the recycle rewards is popular, conversely the single-use plastics program has been slow in delivery and it’s a blight on the government if this simple process is not put into place sooner rather than later. The recent failure of global talks to reduce plastic waste underlines the importance of acting locally, and the City of Hobart have shown that we can phase out single-use plastics. But even the most well-meaning councils are simply not resourced to deal with waste by themselves.
Likewise, the EPA doesn’t have the data or resources it needs to operate successfully, reacting to serious incidents instead of preventing them. A survey of former landfill sites found PFAS chemicals in the leachate of every single one. And what of rogue operators? What happens when there are poor disposal practices? This ultimately falls on neighbours to monitor and report and not the EPA nor responsible councils allowing our waterways and neighbouring properties and environment to suffer.
Our Environment minister should be working urgently on updating the Environment Management and Pollution Control Act of 1994 and empowering the EPA and local governments to regulate landfills properly.
Without a statewide approach to waste reduction, toxic chemicals will continue to leak into our soils and waterways. It’s long past time for state and federal governments to provide clear leadership, invest in the circular economy, and take serious action to reduce the amount of waste we produce, plastic, organic and all other forms of ways to divert it from landfill. In summary, this Auditor‑General’s report on landfills in Tasmania suggests that our environment is being trashed, literally. The Greens call on the Environment Minister –
Time expired.
