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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-05-12 Daily Xml
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LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENFORCEMENT POWERS

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:30): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for State/Local Government Relations a question about local government enforcement powers.

Leave granted.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Under the Public and Environmental Health (General) Regulations 2006 the owner of premises must take reasonable steps to ensure that refuse on premises that is capable of causing an unsanitary condition is disposed of as often as may be appropriate in view of the nature of the refuse but, in any event, at least once a week. The Comrie Report of 2007 commissioned by Zero Waste in relation to a proposed food waste trial stated:

Legislative provisions which have been interpreted to effectively require councils to collect residual waste weekly would need to be modified to enable fortnightly collections.

The regulations have not been modified since that report. Under the government's food waste trial a number of councils have withdrawn weekly refuse collection, putting residents at risk of being in breach of the Public and Environmental Health Regulations. The councils themselves may be liable to be in breach of sections 6, 15 and 16 of the Public and Environmental Health Act for causing such breaches.

However, under section 12A of the Public and Environmental Health Act, councils themselves are responsible for enforcing the act and the regulations in their area. Councils face the prospect of enforcing the law against themselves. Will the minister review the Local Government Act to ensure that enforcement of state laws which may raise issues implicating local government are investigated and enforced at arm's length of local government?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy) (14:32): I thank the honourable member for his question. Obviously, as Minister for State/Local Government Relations my key concern is to ensure that councils consult adequately with their communities should they choose to change the way that rubbish is collected. I certainly do not interfere at the operational level of councils; that is not my responsibility. My concern is that councils work within appropriate legislation and that they educate their communities on their individual responsibilities: for example, what materials can be recycled and what to place in which bin, etc., to improve the sorting of rubbish which improves the efficiency of recycling considerably.

As far as the waste trials go, as a former minister for the environment, I am always supportive of initiatives that improve environmental outcomes, particularly recycling. We know that recycling not only saves important natural resources but also helps reduce our carbon footprint. I remind honourable members that I am not responsible for waste issues. I am happy to pass on the questions relating to health and the various sections of the act that the honourable member mentioned, which I believe are the responsibility of the Hon. John Hill (Minister for Health) and other matters around the waste trials. The lead agency there is Zero Waste and the lead minister is Jay Weatherill. I am happy to pass those matters on to the appropriate ministers and bring back a response.

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