Page 4154 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 22 October 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
officials will have greater powers to enforce the removal of such litter. New infringement notices will be introduced for not complying with a request or an order to remove litter. These provisions will work towards ensuring that the ACT is a clean and safe place to live and work, where we are able to enjoy our public spaces free from litter, unsolicited leaflets and dangerous household waste.
This bill is a robust and holistic piece of legislation which represents best practice, in line with community expectations. This bill will help to reduce the prevalence of littering and illegal dumping in the ACT and will also support and protect public safety where these illegal activities put people at risk. This is a step towards putting our environment first and better ensuring public safety.
MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra) (4.10): I, too, am pleased to speak in support of this bill containing important reform today. The amenity of the ACT is tangible. How a place looks directly impacts how we as Canberrans feel about it. We know something intrinsic to Canberrans is how proud we are of our city, our bush capital, and how deeply it affects us when the bush capital is looking less than pristine or, indeed, when there is a risk to public safety. Generally one of the key contributors to this diminishment of our capital is litter.
Litter is not like a lot of the other city presentation issues our rangers dedicate their efforts to addressing, like trees or grass or weeds. I acknowledge the rangers I saw on Eastern Valley Way this morning working hard to get rid of our weeds. Unlike trees or grass or weeds, litter does not occur naturally; it does not appear and it does not grow without the direct involvement of a human.
Fortunately for us in Canberra, the majority of people do the right thing and do not carelessly dispose of their litter. They consider what they have in their hand and they consider the right way to dispose of it. But, unfortunately, a few people do not take that personal responsibility on board, and that is the heart of what this bill is about—reforming the law to demonstrate that we take the state of our city and public safety incredibly seriously.
This amendment bill provides for new and increased penalties and enhanced powers for rangers to present more incentive for people to take responsibility for their own actions when determining how they will dispose of unwanted items. There has been a bit of discussion about it in this place today, but I put on the record that I am particularly pleased that the bill provides an on-the-spot fine for aggravated littering of $500. This includes, critically, cigarette butts.
Cigarette butts for many of us are simply a disgusting nuisance, but cigarette butts are inherently dangerous. They are slow to break down and leach harmful chemicals into the environment. They are also, of course, a fire risk. We know our temperatures are rising and our fire seasons are lasting longer and have the potential to be incredibly severe. This is top of mind for many of us in the ACT, with our generally dry climate and extensive bush and grasslands. Dropping a lit cigarette butt is an inherently dangerous behaviour because of the consequences of doing so to property, to animals and to people.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video