Address to the ARC Sustainability Lunch 2026

**Check against delivery** I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Wurundjeri people, the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet today and pay my respects to their elders past and present. I also acknowledge the business leaders here today and thank the Australian Retail Council for hosting this event, as well as their partner Australia Post. The Australian retail sector is one of our economy’s largest and any discussion about sustainability needs to involve your sector.

You may have seen that, after taking on this role a bit over a year ago, my major focus was the delivery of our government’s historic reforms to Australia’s national environmental law. With that work now well underway, we’ve been able to pick up work started in our first term, on another key environmental priority – building a circular economy. That’s partly been driven by the need to reduce the waste our growing economy produces and to take forward our government’s commitments in this space.

But it’s also been driven by changes to the external environment, including the collapse in negotiations towards a Global Plastics Treaty last year, the increasing financial pressure our recycling industry is facing and the global fuel crisis and its impact on plastics supply. Today I’d like to update you on some of my priorities in this area – particularly regarding packaging - and take the chance to celebrate the great work that is already happening.

WHY ACTION IS NEEDED Australians rightly worry about the amount of waste entering our environment, and they want to know that the items they put in their recycling bins are actually being turned into new products. We are all aware that business as usual is unsustainable - it’s creating more landfill, adding to our emissions and impacting on our precious species.

And despite the progress we’ve made over the past few years, the pace of change is slow. The world is currently using the planet’s resources almost twice as fast as they can regenerate. This is even worse in Australia.

Australia has one of the highest rates of waste per capita in the world, especially food waste and fast fashion. The environmental impact of this is staggering. If everyone lived like Australians, we would need the resources of four and a half planets just to sustain ourselves.

That is a compelling motivation to transition to a circular economy and make the most out of every resource wherever we can. And beyond the environmental benefits, the economic potential is profound. Because every bottle, wrapper, or box that we landfill represents wasted energy and materials, and lost opportunities to create jobs and increase productivity.

The Productivity Commission’s circular economy report, published last year, shows the opportunity to create more value from what we have. Lifting our national productivity by working smarter. OUR POLICY FRAMEWORKS That’s why the Albanese Government sees the circular economy transition as a whole-of-economy opportunity.

Our Circular Economy Framework, released in 2024 includes the ambitious goal of doubling Australia’s circularity by 2035 and sets targets to keep materials circulating in the economy for as long as possible. CSIRO modelling shows that a doubling of circularity by 2035 could add $26 billion per year to GDP, cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 14 per cent and divert 26 million tonnes of waste from landfill each year.

Across government, circular principles are already embedded in over 30 programs and policies, representing over $150 billion of investment with the potential to support sustainable outcomes. We’re also supporting the creation of recycling infrastructure through the $1 billion Recycling Modernisation Fund, combining commonwealth, state, territory and industry funding.

The projects announced so far will increase Australia’s annual processing capacity by over 1 million tonnes, by building brand new recycling collection facilities, upgrading existing ones and restoring trust in the system. PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP One of the key mechanisms we can use to build on this is through product stewardship, where responsibility for reducing the environmental impacts of products is shared across the supply chain – importers, designers, producers, sellers, users and disposers.

When it comes to achieving circularity in the retail sector, this is a complex challenge that cannot be addressed by governments alone. Fortunately, there are good examples of where this is happening already. The EU, UK and parts of the US and Canada already have successful Extended Producer Responsibility schemes in place.

Here in Australia, our Product Stewardship for Oil (PSO) Scheme supports high value reuse of used lubricant oil and avoids dumping and low value combustion. The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme is a co-regulatory arrangement between government and industry which recycled about 70,000 tonnes of eligible e-waste in 2024-25. In discussions with industry a common concern raised is that approaches to product stewardship can be unclear and inconsistent, a point raised in the report launched today.

I understand the importance of nationally consistent regulation that works across jurisdictions and provides certainty for industry. That’s why I’m working with state and territory ministers to bring more clarity and consistency to the way all governments approach product stewardship. Achieving our goals will require coordinated action across the entire packaging value chain.

It will also involve addressing the longstanding barriers that have slowed progress, including challenges with recovery and limited end markets for recycled materials. Taking responsibility for the impacts of your products is no longer novel or exceptional – it has become an unquestioned way of doing business. And our Government is committed to working in partnership with industry and states and territories to progress reforms to packaging regulation to improve recycling outcomes and build a stronger domestic market for recovered materials.

Because Australians want to do the right thing. But when packaging is overly complex, or poorly designed, it's harder for consumers to recycle properly. I’m grateful that many of you have contributed your expertise to the packaging design framework my department has been advancing.

Your knowledge has been crucial to developing a best practice approach to enhance packaging design, increase recycling rates, and reduce contamination in recycling streams. GOOD WORK UNDERWAY Beyond that, I know a lot of excellent work is already happening, including the ARC educating its members and the work of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation to overcome systemic barriers to packaging recovery by driving collective action across design, recycling, and consumer education.

As I mentioned, we’ve seen from global shocks this year how important it is for Australia to have strong domestic recycling capabilities. And we won’t have that unless businesses create demand for quality recycled materials. I value the depth and quality of consultation stakeholders have provided throughout this process.

You’ve been upfront with us about what you need to make reform work in practice. And we want you involved - retailers play a critical role in Australia’s sustainability and circularity transition because they control choice: they choose the products customers purchase, use, and dispose. Taking responsibility now shows your customers, governments, and the rest of industry that the impacts of your business should not be left to future generations or the environment to deal with.

Many of you are already taking collective responsibility for your packaging – by being a member of APCO and SPSA, using the Australasian Recycling Label so households know how to recycle correctly, and designing packaging so it can be recycled easily. I want you to know that I hear your concerns, when it comes to delivering a stronger, affordable and a more sustainable packaging system.

I want to work with you to see how regulations should be targeted and staged to make sure they match the practical reality of Australian businesses. But I want to make this point. We can’t do everything at once and we have a responsibility to all Australians to pursue reforms in a way that balances environmental outcomes with the broader needs of the economy.

We also have a responsibility to the Australian people in ensuring our policies don’t exacerbate cost of living pressures. Going forward, I’ll continue to work with my state and territory counterparts and with industry to ensure we are in the best possible position to deliver fit for purpose reforms. My department will continue engaging directly with stakeholders and I look forward to continuing that collaboration.

I know some of you would prefer more progress to have been made, but I want to assure you all that I am committed to pushing for changes to packaging regulations to be effective, practical, and deliver long-term benefits for Australian businesses, communities, and the environment. Time does not permit me to cover some of the other sustainability issues faced by the retail sector, including water and energy standards for products that are on sale today.

But there can be no doubt that Australians do want to live more sustainable lives, including regarding the products they buy, use and dispose of. The level of public pressure about waste and recycling in Australia should not be underestimated. So let me finish with this.

The circular economy transition is not a niche environmental project for people in our inner cities. It’s fundamental to securing a sustainable future. If we get this right, we can keep rubbish out of the natural environment, we can strengthen Australian manufacturing, cut emissions and give Australians confidence that what they recycle is genuinely given another life.

We’ve done good work together so far, with government seeking to set ambition, ensure consistency and invest in capability. But industry leadership will determine how quickly we move from good intent to real change. So I encourage that to continue.

Thank you again to the ARC for having me today and I’m looking forward to hearing more about your discussions and working with you in the coming years. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.