Thursday, 18 June 2026

 Melina BATH (Eastern Victoria) (03:37): (2607) My adjournment matter this evening is for the Minister for Environment in his capacity as the responsible minister for the Sustainability Fund. The action I seek from the minister is to review the Sustainability Fund to investigate the potential for the deployment of funds for best-practice energy-from-waste infrastructure in Victoria. I raise this matter recognising that overall Victoria’s current waste and resource recovery framework must be workable. There are specific policy settings which, if refined, could better align with environmental, economic and circular economy objectives. I put this in the context that energy from waste should be in the right location. I speak specifically about the Opal energy-from-waste proposal in Morwell in Latrobe Valley, which has been rigorously doing its homework, meeting its objectives and getting its permits over almost a decade. This can actually work in Victoria’s favour. When there is no further residue recycling and reuse, rather than red bin waste going to landfill, there is an opportunity in the waste hierarchy to use energy from waste. The place I speak of, Opal, have been incredibly rigorous and consultative in the way they have gone about it and have met their EPA agreements et cetera. But when we look at the overall framework for this, having end-of-life use that can produce thermal energy in the right location, that can produce its own electricity and power, what that can do is take away gas utilisation and therefore reduce our carbon emissions footprint, which seems to be growing. So what I ask the minister to do is look at opportunities, and the Sustainability Fund could be one, do an assessment and a review and see if it could meet some objectives by providing a small amount of funding to support very viable operations coming to fruition.