Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Packaging (No Time to Waste) Bill 2026

Senator ROBERTS (Queensland) (09:29): I thank Senator Whish-Wilson for his bill, the Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Packaging (No Time to Waste) Bill 2026. I acknowledge Senator Whish-Wilson's passion for reducing environmental waste and his efforts, which resulted in a ban on Australia exporting recycling waste to Third World countries where it was picked over and then in some cases dumped into rivers which took the rubbish out to sea.

Australian waste was partially responsible for the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. I do agree there's a need to control waste from excessive packaging. This bill, though, is not the answer.

The purpose of this bill is to provide for the government of the Commonwealth to establish a uniform national Extended Producer Responsibility, an EPR, a scheme for packaging through a legislative instrument. The Extended Producer Responsibility scheme would place a direct and legally binding obligation on producers, importers or distributors of packaging for the end-of-life management of the packaging they place onto the Australian market.

This bill would see Australia's National Packaging Targets made mandatory and legally binding. The bill would cumulatively serve to meet the intent of reducing demand for virgin plastic, preventing plastic waste, supporting the economy, increasing recycling and resource recovery rates, as well as reducing emissions and better protecting the Australian environment.

These are represented in the National Packaging Targets, which in this context are as follows. The scheme enforces benchmarks for 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging alongside a 70 per cent plastic recycling rate and 50 per cent recycled content. Currently, this is voluntary.

This bill would make it mandatory—compulsory. The law applies a strict nationwide mandate to anyone defined as a 'responsible person', which covers commercial manufacturers, importers and distributors of packaging. Businesses can no longer opt out or ignore recycling targets.

It replaces fragmented state rules with a single, uniform, Commonwealth-led framework. The core economic driver of the scheme is a producer funded fee structure. Companies pay levies based on the type and total weight of the packaging they introduce into the Australian market.

Hard-to-recycle materials, composite plastics and virgin plastics face heavy financial penalties. Levies are heavily discounted—that's 'eco-modulated', to use their term—for businesses using highly recyclable materials or high percentages of local recycled content. Modulated!

Now the part which is typical of the Greens, sadly, taking the kernel of a good idea and taking it so far it becomes intolerable. I'm talking about their bill's lifecycle data tracking. The scheme requires transparent continuous data reporting into an independent national tracking system.

Companies must log exact material weights, chemical composition and supply volumes. I'll say that again: companies must log exact material weights, chemical composition and supply volumes. This data is used to calculate their exact financial obligations and verify whether they're meeting the mandatory 2030 recycling targets.

The revenue collected from producer levies forms a dedicated stable funding stream explicitly earmarked to build up Australia's circular economy. Now, the phrase 'circular economy' is code for everyday Australians never owning anything new. The wealthy will be able to pay the price penalty for new products; everyday Australians will not.

The elitism of the concept of circular economy sits poorly with One Nation's approach of advancing the lives of everyday Australians. It does seem typical, sadly, of the inner-city Greens, though, marketing themselves as the party of the disenfranchised while bills like this will serve to weigh down the economy, reduce productivity and reduce opportunity for the very people the Greens pretend to represent.

This bill will impose a very high cost on business and consumers for a very small and unproven reward for the environment. Everything that comes in a package will go up in price. More inflation, higher prices, less wealth for everyone.

This bill, especially its compulsory nature, onerous reporting conditions and cost, is what One Nation means when we talk about excessive green tape. One Nation opposes green tape strangling our society. One Nation opposes this bill.