Carter John: Waste Minimisation Bill — Third Reading 
Carter John: Waste Minimisation Bill — Third Reading 
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JOHN CARTER (National—Northland) 
: 
 It gives me great pleasure to have an opportunity to speak in the third reading debate on the Waste Minimisation Bill. I want to compliment one or two people. Firstly I say that of all the select committees I have been involved in the Local Government and Environment Committee members worked the most productively together. Our politics were put aside and we grappled with the issue. For the likes of me coming from the back of the Hokianga where we chop down trees and dig things my whole attitude to this issue has changed significantly. It has been a steep learning curve for me. I thank the select committee generally but I compliment Nicky Wagner who has done a tremendous amount of work on this legislation. She deserves to be recognised for the work she has done. I also say to the chairperson of the committee Moana Mackey that she did a good job. 
Other members of the committee who need to be recognised as we go through this third reading debate include Mike Ward who introduced the bill although I have to say he did not do a lot of work on it because of course he left Parliament if that is the polite way to put it. But the one who did do a lot of work on it was Nandor Tanczos and we need to recognise the work he did. Having him on the select committee with me was also a steep learning curve because he is not the sort of person I would normally have a close association with. But I found that the more one gets to know Nandor the more one gets to like him. We established quite a good friendship during that time and when we were at a couple of conferences together and I suspect that that friendship will be enduring. For all the people who may think that Parliament is a strange place—and it is—I tell them that lots of good work actually gets done in Parliament particularly in the select committees and that we can have friendships across parties. So I just make those points in speaking to the third reading. 
The other thing I would like to have recorded in my address is my belief that on these sorts of issues New Zealand has come a long way but still has a long way to go. This bill is but a first step towards our actually addressing an issue that needs more public focus. One of the unfortunate things that happens in our society mainly through ignorance is that we waste a lot of resource and I must say that it was a shame that Nicky’s amendment was not accepted and the title was not changed to the “Waste Minimisation and Resource Recovery Bill”. All the committee recognised that we are talking about the use of our resources—the better use of our resources. One of the things that struck me—and it changed my mind on this whole issue—was that there is so much more that can be done and should be done. 
The unfortunate thing in the way in which we implement our waste management at the moment is that the ratepayers and the public—but the ratepayers specifically—pay for the cost of our disposal of waste and that is quite a huge burden on the ratepayers of this country. One of the things that fascinated me when I went to South Australia to study its system of waste disposal where it uses container deposit legislation as the base of its resource recovery was that that state has the lowest “per ratepayer cost” of all states right across Australia. I think from memory that the cost is less than half of that for every other state. That is because South Australia has a system whereby more emphasis is put on the upfront responsibility than on the end-user. That makes manufacturers and producers of items far more responsible and it also gives small businesses an opportunity to have a cash flow. Most of us will remember the days when we used to get 2c for returning a lemonade bottle the Boy Scout and Girl Guide bottle drives and those other things we used to do. That is the sort of system that is run in South Australia. 
I mentioned yesterday in the Committee debate that car manufacturers came to the select committee and said they would like to see us put a $500 extra cost on to every new car which could be deposited so that at the end use of the car rather than have it disposed of by being chucked over a bank burnt out in a bush somewhere or left on the side of the road the car would have a value of at least $500 which would be meaningful to some people. Most people would want to redeem that and this is the sort of system that can happen when we have container deposit legislation. I think that in time we will move more and more towards that sort of system. The framework is here for that to happen. At the moment it works only on priority products but I see a time when we will move to that whole system right across the country and quite honestly I for one will be supportive of it. I would encourage it to happen as rapidly as it can. 
One controversial issue was the levy. A whole lot of people wanted the levy such as local government the producers—the whole system. Everybody thought they should have it because they had the best reason for it. But the levy actually is just a step. Its whole purpose is to impose a cost on people who want to dispose of their waste rather than reuse it. So it is a punitive measure in that regard. It is designed to try to encourage people to understand that if we do not treat our waste as a resource there is a cost for having that attitude. Its whole purpose is to change the attitudes of the nation and in time it will. I do see a time when the levy will continue to increase to a level where it will be very costly to dispose of our rubbish in a landfill as opposed to having the opportunity to redeem that rubbish and probably get a return on it. When we get to that stage this country will seriously be starting to make some progress on the proper system of resource recovery rather than waste. 
I for one look forward to the day when we get rid of the word “waste” in this context and when we all look at the issue of waste as a resource and not as waste at all. Quite honestly when that happens this nation will be able to proudly stand up and say that we are one of the leaders in the world in this regard. We are a way from that yet but I do see the time coming when that will happen. South Australia for example and a number of countries have already moved a lot further ahead than we have but this framework gives us the opportunity to make great strides ahead. 
Quite honestly I am proud to have been one of the people who has been involved in this waste minimisation legislation. As I said for me personally it has been a steep learning curve. I have enjoyed being involved in the whole issue of this legislation and I conclude by thanking all the members on the select committee. Funnily enough we did manage to put our politics aside and work constructively together to end up with legislation that is workable and will be good for this nation.