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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-04 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Container Deposit Scheme

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:21): I seek leave to make a brief explanation prior to addressing a question to the Minister for Primary Industries regarding the recently announced container deposit scheme expansion and its effects on the wine industry.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: The South Australian wine industry, while it normally contributes $2.2 billion annually into the South Australian economy, is currently going through some of the hardest times on record. According to industry figures, yesterday's announcement by the Malinauskas Labor government to expand the container deposit scheme to include wine bottles will significantly add to costs and be a further setback to the industry.

Interstate experience confirms that it will add approximately 20¢ per bottle to their costs and be a total cost of $40 million annually to South Australian winemakers. This is despite evidence that wine bottles constitute a tiny part of the litter stream, and the potential environmental gains are looking much worse than the cost. My question to the minister is: does the minister agree with her government's decision to expand the container deposit scheme to include wine bottles, given the widespread view within the industry she represents that this is, in effect, a new tax on a sector already under significant pressure?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:22): I thank the honourable member for her question. The issue around container deposit schemes has been a topic of discussion for quite a number of years. When I first became minister, I recall having a briefing and also discussing it with the Minister for the Environment in the other place, and the goal was for nationally consistent implementation of any changes to the container deposit scheme that affected the wine industry, in this case glass bottles.

Unfortunately, from my perspective—I don't presume to speak on behalf of others—Queensland moved ahead of the rest of the country when they made the change, I think it must be two years ago now from memory. There have been, as I understand it, ongoing discussions between the other states, because obviously when it's something of this nature national consistency would be preferable.

Obviously, given that couldn't be achieved, given that Queensland went ahead—as one might say—prematurely, Queensland has already integrated glass wine and spirit bottles into their container deposit scheme. Western Australia also committed to expanding their scheme during their most recent state election. The Northern Territory has recently announced that it will follow suit, in terms of bringing in legislation to expand its scheme.

So when you can't go for the ideal, you go for the next best thing. In terms of consistency, there is now an agreement with New South Wales that New South Wales and South Australia will work to implementation at the same time. I certainly hope that that might also encourage those other states to think about a similar implementation date—we have announced late 2027. If we can get the closest to national consistency as is feasible, that will be in everyone's interests, particularly, obviously, the wine industry, given that winemakers sell their product across state borders.

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