Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, the Chairperson for the Senate Standing Committee on Environment and Communications Inquiry into waste and recycling, provides the following comments on the release of the report ,“Never waste a crisis: the waste and recycling industry in Australia”.

The Inquiry was established in August last year following the expose by Four Corners, “Trashed”, into the then emerging waste and recycling crisis, that was later aggravated by China’s recyclables import ban.

Greens spokesperson for Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, is calling on the Government to reverse its decision not to re-establish an Antarctic research institute upon the closure of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre (ACE CRC), a decision that puts in jeopardy Hobart’s position as a global research centre.

Waste & Recycling and Healthy Oceans portfolio holder, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, today has launched the Greens’ response to the national recycling crisis and the growing problem of marine plastic pollution.

“Australians love their recycling. Around the country, households have been doing the right thing for years.

Greens spokesperson for Healthy Oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, provides the following comments on the Greens decision to support a Senate disallowance of the new Commonwealth Marine Reserves Plans of Management.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “The Greens have consulted widely with stakeholders and the environment movement and will support the disallowance of the Liberals’ woefully inadequate marine reserve protections. Additionally we will work to lobby the cross-bench to support the disallowance to make sure we get the numbers for these inadequate plans to be voted down.

Greens waste and recyling spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson provides the following comments on the evidence heard at the Senate waste and recycling Inquiry held in Sydney today.

[NB: Short audios for key witness statements can be found below.]

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “It is official now. Australia is in a nationwide recycling and waste crisis. A system of kerbside recycling that has been in place for decades is collapsing. "

Greens spokesperson for Healthy Oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says that the Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg has been proven wrong by a white shark population study and continues to misrepresent the data for base political purposes.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Josh Frydenberg said that ‘Blind Freddy’ could see that white shark numbers were increasing, but this report shows we what knew all along, that ‘Blind Freddy’ Frydenberg talks bullshit.

Greens spokesperson for Healthy Oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says that Japan announcing plans for a new whaling mother-ship is a slap-in-the-face to Australia’s anti-whaling position and shows that the Turnbull Government’s ever-weakening position on the issue is providing new confidence to pro-whaling forces in Japan.

Greens Healthy Oceans spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says Malcolm Turnbull is rewarding the bad behaviour of Japan by seeking deeper ties while ignoring its continued intransigence over whaling.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “Japanese whalers are currently in the Southern Ocean, just off the coast of Australia’s Antarctic Territories and slaughtering our whales in breach of Australian law and international condemnation.