Under the leadership of Labor’s Minister for the Environment, Hon. Penny Sharpe MLC, the NSW Parliament recently legislated several historic environmental reforms. On 23 October, the Great Koala National Park was created on the Mid North Coast between Kempsey and Grafton. Spanning over 475,000 hectares in total, it’s home to approximately 12,000 koalas, 36,000 greater gliders and over 100 other threatened plant and animal species. In association, the Clean Energy Regulator approved the North East Regional Forest Agreement carbon project under the Native Forest Management Method.
Under the ‘Plastics Ban 2.0’ there is: an immediate total ban on the release of helium balloons; recyclable takeaway coffee cups by 2028; cafes facilitating customer ‘keep cups’; phasing out of all single-use carry bags with handles (think food deliveries) by 2027; lids remaining attached to plastic beverage bottles; compostable fruit/vegie stickers by 2030; banning of recyclable mini single-use plastic condiments packaging (think soy sauce fish) and recyclable takeaway containers such as bento boxes, sushi trays; and lastly, strict regulations on harmful chemical additives used in food and beverage packaging.
Thank you for our Labor government who walks the talk.
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