Bills

Electoral (Control of Corflutes) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (10:31): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Electoral Act 1985 and to make a related amendment to the Local Government Act 1999. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (10:32): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I am pleased today to introduce the Electoral (Control of Corflutes) Amendment Bill 2023. It is in many ways a straightforward bill which seeks to make amendments to two acts—the Electoral Act 1985 and the Local Government Act 1999—to effect a ban on the widespread use of election corflutes on public roads or road-related areas, including structures, fixtures and vegetation on the public road or road-related area, including Stobie poles.

Corflutes are a corrugated polypropylene, a fluted plastic which is lightweight but rigid and, importantly, they are weatherproof. However, they are a single-use plastic and there are significant concerns in the community that there are limited opportunities for recycling.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: My thought has been broken by the member for West Torrens, who makes a good point actually. On the whole, because political parties and candidates come and go and not many have the longevity of the member for West Torrens, he is unique in his position as Father of the House and his desire to reflect younger versions of himself throughout the western suburbs. I have driven through the western suburbs during election periods and seen the history of the member for West Torrens as he matures through the years. But I digress.

There is a legal requirement for a sensible second reading speech, so I will return to the content of this and say how grateful I am now that I did not decide just to insert this into Hansard. However, they are a single-use plastic normally, with limited opportunities for recycling requiring either the use of complex mechanical recycling or chemical recycling to break down the corflute.

There is also the issue of cable ties and fixtures used to attach corflutes to public infrastructure, which also contribute to the environmental impact associated with the use of corflutes. They are a visual pollution, even if re-used year after year after year, and contribute to concerns in the community about diminished road safety, driver distraction and the preservation of public roadside amenity.

Consultation with the community has been conducted on multiple occasions, both during my time as the environment minister and more recently in opposition. That consultation has occurred across political parties, and I know that many members of parliament have been approached about this issue. This consultation has concluded that the community is hugely supportive of any proposed ban on corflutes. In other jurisdictions the plastering of corflutes on public property during election cycles has been prevented for many years. On this issue South Australia is certainly dragging its heels.

My commitment to this bill and what it seeks to achieve is consistent with the initiatives delivered during my time as South Australia's Minister for Environment and Water, and complements one of my driving motivations to be a member of parliament—that is, to see a more sustainable world in which we live. I am very keen to focus on delivering practical, on-ground environmental outcomes, including efforts to maintain South Australia's significant heritage for its record in waste management and waste minimisation not only across the nation but also across the world.

South Australia has a proud history in waste management initiatives, and many of us are exceptionally aware of that. This includes the implementation of the hugely successful container deposit scheme in 1977 as well as being the first state to ban lightweight, single-use plastic shopping bags in 2009. In September 2020, South Australia banned the sale, supply and distribution of single-use plastic straws, cutlery and drink stirrers. We set an ambitious agenda to ban further single-use plastic items, including expanded polystyrene cups, bowls and plates, clamshell containers and oxo-degradable plastic products, with additional items to be rolled out in tranches on nominated dates.

There has been a significant level of bipartisanship when it comes to maintaining this rolling ban between governments and political parties in this state. These reforms also received significant support from the community and businesses alike, that saw this as a chance to contribute to reducing our reliance on plastic items and continue to emphasise South Australia's heritage as a leader in this area.

Consistent with their support for the ban on single-use plastic products, the South Australian community is overwhelmingly supportive of the ban on corflute posters. Community consultation conducted by the Liberal Party late last year indicated that 93 per cent of responders—there were 474 responses—supported a ban on corflutes and highlighted that this was a sensible and practical environmental initiative. It was disappointing that during the previous term of government the Labor opposition and members of the crossbench did not support our efforts to ban corflutes. I do highlight, though, the support the Greens have provided for this initiative.

As members of parliament and leaders in our community many of us continue to use corflutes during election campaigns to raise our personal profile and send messages to the community; however, given that community consultation demonstrates that almost 95 per cent of respondents claim not to be influenced by the use of corflutes to determine their vote on election day, it also emphasises the opportunity and need to ban them.

The onus is on us as elected representatives of our community to pursue policy and reforms that have community support, and I remain optimistic that the government may yet provide their support for this policy and this bill to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics and visual pollution. As shadow minister for the environment and Leader of the Opposition, I am pleased to commend this bill to the chamber for consideration.

Debate adjourned on motion of Mr Odenwalder.