Page 4144 - Week 12 - Thursday, 1 December 2022
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range eggs displayed in retail outlets. We have acknowledged the sentience of animals and I thank Minister Steel for his work on that legislation. We can now add to this list the protection of native animals through government commitment to regulate animal friendly netting here in the ACT like they do in Victoria. I am really, really pleased to hear that Minister Vassarotti is exploring options to bring into effect this motion and to eliminate the netting. It is important we do it properly and we look at all the options.
I am extremely pleased that the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate is working with ACT Wildlife to develop, sponsor and implement a program that will allow non-wildlife friendly netting to be replaced free of charge if it is needed. A lot of people have spoken to me about netting. Many of these are people with well-established gardens who have looked after them for many years. Not everyone is in a financial position to be able to go out and buy new netting. I would really, really welcome a free program that assists. There is a huge amount of goodwill and Canberrans really want to do the right thing, so I think it is great that we can help them to do the right thing wherever we can.
I am excited that there will be a public education program coordinated through ACT Parks and Conservation with ACT Wildlife on the dangers of inappropriate netting. A few months ago I shared on my Facebook page a link to ACT Wildlife’s new fact sheet on animal friendly netting. It is a great start to the education. I would invite all members here to take a look, stay informed and share it with members of the public when this comes up.
I would also like to talk about the netting itself. Quite a lot of people have asked me if the netting will be recycled. I am a really strong advocate for the circular economy and I come from the recycling industry, so I looked into this. The nets are made from polyethylene. This is a fossil fuel-based plastic. It is recyclable but it cannot be recycled in our yellow topped bins or through our household materials recovery facility. I have been chatting to a few contacts in the recycling sector about how it could be recycled. I am really pleased to say I have already found one operator who is interested in recycling the nets. Candice Addicoat is a local designer and recycler who works with polyethylene plastic. She has a number of initiatives in train, including workshops, a record for the Guinness Book of World Records and an exhibit at Questacon. She might be placed to recycle these nets. I am in discussion with my colleagues in government about what we need to do operationally to make sure that this, or some other suitable recycling arrangement is in place.
I think it is really important with every program and initiative that we think through the implications for our climate and for our circular economy. It does not matter whether the program is about recycling or about climate action, all programs should be done ethically and sustainably. The solutions are usually out there and I am pleased to say this looks like a problem we can solve.
So once again, I would like to thank and acknowledge Minister Vassarotti and the directorate for their work on this motion. It has really made a positive difference to animal protection here in the ACT and I look forward to seeing the legislation in due course.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
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