Page 492 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 8 March 2011

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Nevertheless, we will have regard to the issues that the Greens have raised in their submission around the cost-benefit analysis as we finalise our consideration of the waste strategy.

The point I would make, of course, is that a third bin works well for those households who choose to separate their waste. The challenge will be that there will still be households that do not separate their waste, and then the question is: what do we do with those households? It can be a sizeable number of households. The experience of other jurisdictions is that there is a large number of households where third bins exist that do not separate all of their organic waste. That organic waste still ends up in the general waste stream, and then further investment has to be put into other mechanisms to recover that waste. So you are basically paying twice.

The question that the Assembly has to address is: is it reasonable to ask taxpayers to pay twice to extract that waste or do we do it once, do it right and do it in the most cost-effective manner? Those are the issues the government will address as we finalise the waste policy.

Opposition members interjecting—

MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Corbell, a moment, please. I have asked members of the opposition to remain silent. Mr Hanson, you are now warned for repeated interjection. Have you finished, minister?

Mr Corbell: Yes, thank you, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Ms Le Couteur, a supplementary question?

MS LE COUTEUR: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Minister, given the cost of a third bin system can vary considerably depending on its configuration, will you table in the Assembly the breakdown of the costings the government used to assess the third bin?

MR CORBELL: All that detail was outlined, as I understand it, in the cost-benefit analysis. That has been made publicly available. If Ms Le Couteur wants further detail on that I am happy to provide a further briefing to her.

MR COE: A supplementary?

MR SPEAKER: Yes, Mr Coe.

MR COE: Minister, the government has stated that the bulky waste trial will begin on 12 March. On what date can we expect the bulky waste trial to begin?

MR STANHOPE: In the separation of responsibilities in relation to waste, issues around the bulky waste trial are operational issues for the Department of Territory and Municipal Services. In relation to the trial, the trial for bulky waste—if I went to my notes I could probably find it—has been scoped up. My expectation is that the trial will commence shortly.


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