The Tasmanian Greens today increased the pressure upon the Environment Minister, Brian Wightman, to provide a clear timeframe by which he will implement the commitment made to Parliament on a ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags in Tasmania, since the Parliament passed a tripartite resolution on the ban in September last year.
Greens Environment spokesperson Cassy O’Connor MP said that since the Greens Motion calling for a plastic bag ban received tripartite support in September last year there had been a change in Minister, but Minister Wightman now needed to outline the timeline for implementation of the ban.
“The Environment Minister should respect the will of the Parliament and clarify uncertainty over an implementation timeline for the ban, including when the proposal for an implementation plan will be taken to Cabinet,” Ms O’Connor said.
“Tasmania’s Parliamentary representatives from all three parties have taken the step of coming to this tripartite agreement to follow in the steps of South Australia and Coles Bay in banning plastic bags in the state. Our Environment Minister needs to honour that, as I am sure he will.”
“A ban on non-biodegradable plastic bags would improve Tasmania’s status as the countries worst litterbugs, as noted by Keep Australia Beautiful’s most recent Litter Index, and it would also make significant difference to the state of our recreational areas, waterways, coastal and marine environment,” Ms O’Connor said.
