PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS

Mr RAU (Enfield) (16:01): My question is to the Minister for Environment and Conservation. How is the government helping South Australians prepare for the upcoming ban on checkout-style plastic bags?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Early Childhood Development, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, Minister Assisting the Premier in Cabinet Business and Public Sector Management) (16:02): As of next Monday, as members would appreciate, those checkout-style plastic bags will be banned in South Australia. Just as in 1977, when we led the way with the container deposit legislation, South Australia, once again, will be leading the country in relation to waste management. Currently, in Australia, we use something like four billion of these light-weight style plastic bags each year—an extraordinary number—and about 40 million of those (1 in 100) end up as litter, which is an extraordinary number. It also takes a huge amount of energy to produce these bags. It takes some 37,000 tonnes of plastic polymer (which is derived from non-renewable resources) to make this quantity of plastic bags each year. Of course, by getting rid of these bags, we will have fewer in landfill, use less energy and reduce the litter in our parks and waterways.

I have been very pleased about the level of support for this within the South Australian community. There is wide support for the ban. Many people have already taken the steps to use the re-useable bags as part of their daily routine. It is obvious—by going to a supermarket, you will see that. We have had that transition period from 1 January this year to help people adjust to the change. Many South Australian retailers have worked hard with the government to prepare both shops and shoppers for the ban, and I thank them for their efforts. I would also thank the South Australian community for respecting the rights of shop assistants to carry out their work free of harassment when the ban comes into place.

It is also important for shoppers to bring clean bags and to bring enough bags to ensure that they are not overfull, but we will all get used to the arrangements as they begin to settle down. We have also seen a number of retailers jump out ahead of the ban by introducing their own ban. Places such as K-Mart, Target, Bunnings and IKEA are already introducing their own bans, and it has not caused the end of the world as some predicted.

We know that some people will forget to take their own bags. Retailers have already anticipated that. They have on offer compostable bags, as well as the green re-useable bags. Obviously, the compostable bags are much cheaper and something which people can use as a stand-in when they have forgotten their re-useable bags. We know that there are also some South Australians who might be doing it a bit tough. There might be circumstances in their life that perhaps make it difficult for them to remember.

What we have done today is donate 8,000 bags—3,000 from the Green Bag Company and 5,000 from the South Australian government—to Foodbank SA to distribute to a range of charities in South Australia. We want to ensure that those bags are distributed far and wide because our environment will benefit from this important initiative. I also thank The Advertiser for its trolley bag initiative, which supports the initiative of the South Australian government. This initiative has been embraced by South Australians and we look forward to its implementation on Monday as we all begin to change our habits for the sake of the environment.