Solid Waste Levy

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:09): Supplementary arising out of the answer: Treasurer, you mentioned that there are other trailblazing initiatives and then you referred to the movement of sand from Semaphore to West Beach. This has been going on for years, as we know, though it has been trucked. In fact, your government—

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Pangallo, ask your supplementary question.

The Hon. R.I. Lucas interjecting:

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: Well, it will be, but just a clarification—

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Pangallo—

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: I am just trying to clarify—

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Pangallo, I am sorry—

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: Mr President, I'm trying to—

The PRESIDENT: The Hon. Mr Pangallo, I'm speaking, you are not. Ask your question. You don't get another opportunity to give another explanation.

The Hon. F. PANGALLO: Thank you, Mr President. Can the Treasurer please explain what these so-called trailblazing initiatives of the Marshall government are?

The Hon. S.G. Wade: It's a Dorothy.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:10): I thank the honourable member for another Dorothy Dixer in this particular area, but let me very quickly summarise again. It is not just the carting of the sand; that is what the former government did. There is a long-term solution to save both West Beach and Henley Beach, which involves a pipeline. So I won't go over that again. But there is a range of initiatives in relation to regional beaches, which are diverse in terms of the problems they have. Some of our beaches in some of our regional areas are suffering a problem of too much sand accumulating in their particular area and we are having to look at how we can actually assist in those areas. Others have got another problem, which is not enough sand. So there is a range of regional beaches that are also going to be funded in relation to it.

In relation to the other areas, I am aware of some very, very exciting opportunities that are being discussed at the moment which are being driven by the fact that it is now significantly more expensive to just dump waste into landfill. Councils and others are saying, 'Okay, rather than that, maybe we should be looking at either ourselves or'—I would hope perhaps—'joint venturing with private sector operators and others to say: what can we actually do to recycle some of this waste which previously was going into landfill, because now it's too expensive at $140 to be just dumping into landfill? Can we actually spend the money and actually recycle and come up with some useful products?'

There are all sorts of exciting opportunities being developed. Minister Stephan Knoll only recently, together with minister Speirs I think, was waxing lyrical about a particular project in the north-south corridor precinct, which was using some recycled product as part of the product in the surface that was going to be used there. There are some exciting opportunities being discussed by private sector operators in saying, 'Okay, at this particular price, we think we can construct a plant which may well be able to recycle the plastics and other things which are just being dumped into landfill at the moment.'

What is driving them is saying: people are now talking to us, because of the $140 just to dump waste into landfill. It is just money down the drain, if I can put it that way, or it is money being wasted. Why don't we look at what the business opportunity or the environmental opportunity or the economic opportunity might be, which might involve jobs, in actually recycling some of the stuff which is being just dumped into landfill at the moment? They are the sort of exciting opportunities which are being discussed, probably more specifically with people who have greater knowledge than I do as a mere Treasurer, but even as a mere Treasurer people have spoken to me and said, 'Hey, we are looking at opportunities. We are talking to minister Speirs and the environment department and other departments about these opportunities.'

The PRESIDENT: I call the Hon. Mr Ngo. Actually, the Hon. Leader of the Opposition.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! Government benches!