Tuesday, 13 August 2019

Ministers statements: recycling relief package

Ms D’AMBROSIO (Mill Park—Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Minister for Solar Homes) (14:15): I am absolutely delighted to update the house on our recycling relief package and to deliver on our commitment to increasing the Victorian renewable energy target to 50 per cent by 2030. The Prime Minister acknowledged at the Council of Australian Governments last week that waste and recycling is a national issue, and we welcome their $20 million announcement today. This complements our strong actions in Victoria. We are providing $11.3 million in immediate financial relief to councils affected by the SKM closure and investing in infrastructure to improve the quality of recycled materials, and we will work with councils and industry on a major overhaul of kerbside collection. This may include extra bins for households, but there are other ways to reduce contamination of recycled materials.

Our announcement today comes on top of our record investment of $135 million towards the recycling sector. We have invested more than $700 million over five budgets from the Sustainability Fund and there is more to come. This compares to a paltry $15 million in their entire four years in government. Today we have given notice of a bill to legislate for a renewable energy target of 50 per cent by 2030, as promised at last year’s election. This will create over 24 000 jobs and drive an additional $5.8 billion in economic activity across the state, reducing power costs and reducing carbon emissions. Our government is getting on with ensuring that Victoria remains the renewable energy capital of this country. When we make a commitment we absolutely deliver in bucketloads, and we will continue to drive the investment in renewable energy in this state and of course in the recycling sector.

The SPEAKER: Before calling the next question, I welcome to the gallery the Honourable Veena Bhatnagar, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Fiji, who is also the Assistant Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation. Welcome to the Victorian Parliament.