Page 528 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 February 2020
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The government will continue to encourage the community to dispose of their litter responsibly, and it is important that they do. I have already outlined the impact that it can have on our environment, but we also realise that we need to provide better ways and incentives for people to dispose of items legally. That is why we have provided, through the budget review, support for a new bulky waste collection service. This was a commitment by ACT Labor on 27 September 2016. We committed to do it in this term of government and we are delivering on our commitment. I am very pleased that the Liberals support the new service, which will be rolled out from the middle of this year and provide Canberrans with an option to legally dispose of bulky waste items.
At the moment we believe that around 65 per cent of materials found illegally dumped would be eligible for a free pickup under that bulky waste collection scheme. We hope that this will minimise the amount of illegally dumped bulky waste by providing Canberrans with a free, legal method for disposing of a range of items, including unwanted furniture, worn-out household appliances and manchester, for example.
The service will also be supported by a customer education and compliance program to ensure that residents are aware of the service and how to use it, as well as the implications of illegal dumping. The service will include frequent monitoring and management by both the service providers that will be chosen through a procurement process and the ACT government.
Mr Milligan has brought forward a motion on an issue that is important to many Canberrans, and the impact of littering and illegal dumping in our suburbs and environment is a concern. It is an issue that the government acknowledges and is taking steps to tackle, whether it is the recent changes to the Litter Act that we made last year, the increase in staff to enforce compliance, the education campaigns and resources provided to the Canberra community outlining ways that Canberrans can legally dispose of unwanted materials, and through delivering on our election commitment to a bulky waste collection scheme which will be up and running this year.
While I am moving an amendment to paragraph (1) of Mr Milligan’s motion, the government is happy to support the substantive calls to action. I propose some changes to the noting section which acknowledge some of the work that has gone on as very factual. I thank Mr Milligan for bringing this motion forward. We look forward to continuing to work with not only charity bin operators but the whole community generally to reduce illegal dumping in our community. I move the amendment to Mr Milligan’s motion circulated in my name:
Omit paragraph (1), substitute:
“(1) notes that:
(a) illegal dumping occurs across the ACT;
(b) illegal dumping around charity bins in the ACT, including in Yerrabi, is a long-standing issue, as well as roadside litter and illegal dumping on vacant blocks and public spaces;
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