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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (28 June) . . Page.. 2113 ..

MS TUCKER

cities of Canberra and Launceston were two to three times greater than in the other four cities, with smaller particles making up a larger proportion of the particle concentration in Launceston and Canberra. This obviously has implications for the health of our community. This bill would go some way towards addressing these problems. I have also placed a motion on the notice paper which further addresses the issue of pollution.

In Canberra we, of course, do have a solid fuel strategy and a voluntary code of practice for fuel wood sellers. To date the voluntary code has attracted only seven firewood merchants to sign up, and while I would like to acknowledge these providers who have been concerned enough to do the right thing, the fact that others still operate outside the code means that we are not having that much effect.

This means that a small group is attempting to be responsible; a small number of purchasers of wood know what they are getting and what they pay for; and only a small number of people who buy fuel wood in the ACT receive any information about better burning practices, the type of wood they are buying, and burning mixed loads. The rest are missing out, which means that we are all missing out on cleaner air and a chance for viable woodlands to be part of our region's landscape into the future.

This legislation would require all sellers of fuel wood to residents of Canberra to have an environmental authorisation. A condition of the authorisation would be that fuel wood sellers would have to comply with the substantive provisions of the existing code of practice-that is, promotion of mixed loads, correct burning practices, firewood to be sold by mass or weight only, only seasoned wood to be sold and the source of wood to be disclosed. We have also introduced a set of definitions of wood sources, which will allow sellers and buyers to differentiate between types of wood.

Overall, the two main effects of this bill would be to ensure that ACT residents are given the most basic ecological information about the firewood that they buy, the most basic information about how best to use it, and a level of protection that they are getting the amount they think they are. This is, as I said, a small step, but it is essential. For any education campaigns to make a difference, people need to know the basic information about what the wood they are using.

Members of the industry who are taking a responsible approach are supportive of this legislation because, as often is the case, some operators choose to ignore the code, which can disadvantage the responsible operators whose prices sometimes, by necessity, have to increase in order to cover the extra responsibilities.

Cost savings also are an incentive to use wood heaters. Obviously, the real environmental cost of using fuel wood was and is not reflected in the price. As we know, for many people the price will be the determining factor and the result can be disastrous for the health of our environment.

There are equity issues here which have to be considered, and I want to acknowledge them as well. I will be talking about them more when we deal with the motion on air pollution.

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