Jo Haylen, Member for Summer Hill, has today joined renewed calls for the Berejiklian to finally move to ban single use plastic bags.

As Queensland begins an advertising campaign alerting families to its July 1 ban on single-use plastic bags, the NSW Labor Opposition has stepped up its calls on the Berejiklian Government to follow suit in NSW.

South Australia (2009), the ACT (2011), the Northern Territory (2011) and Tasmania (2013) all have bans in place. Queensland, Western Australia and Victoria have all indicated that they will act this year.

NSW is the only Australian jurisdiction refusing to move to ban the single use plastic bag. In addition, Woolworths, Coles, IGA and Harris Farm Markets have agreed to a voluntary ban on plastic bags.

Organisations such as Inner West Boomerang Bags are taking matters into their own hands, with community members organising themselves to producing reusable bags and donating them to local businesses for shoppers to use and return.

In 2016,  introduced legislation – Plastic Shopping Bags (Prohibition on Supply by Retailers) Bill – into the NSW Parliament to ban single use plastic bags in NSW. The Sharpe Bill was defeated on October 19, 2017 by the NSW Liberals and Nationals – 20 to 17.

NSW Labor said the environmental impact of plastic bags on the environment is stark. They include:

• Every second, 159 single-use plastic bags are used in Australia – which is more than 10 million new bags each day;
• In NSW, up to 61 million bags are littered each year;
• More than 70 per cent of the rubbish entering our oceans is identified as plastic;
• The average time a plastic bag is used between the shop and home is 12 minutes before it is discarded; and
• Plastic kills up to one million sea birds, countless fish and 100,000 sea mammals each year.

A number of international jurisdictions have taken steps to ban plastic bags. In 2008 China banned production of ultra-thin bags and ordered supermarkets to stop giving away free carriers. England introduced a 5 pence minimum charge for single use plastic bags. South Africa has banned plastic bags. Ireland has imposed a plastic bag levy. France banned single‑use plastic bags from supermarkets and small corner stores in 2016, and last year the ban was extended to single‑use plastic bags used to carry fruit, bread, vegetables, meat and fish. In the United States a large number of individual States have successfully placed a levy or ban on plastic bags.

In South Australia, it is estimated that 400 million fewer plastic bags are used each year since the ban began, while there was a 36 per cent reduction in bags going to landfill in the ACT.

Quotes attributable to Member for Summer Hill, Jo Haylen

"Every other government has moved to ban the bag. The big retailers are on board. What is the Berejiklian Government waiting for?

"Here in the Inner West we are ready for the Berejiklian Government to show some leadership on this.

"Grassroots organisations like Boomerang Bags are filling the gap left by the Berejiklian's Government inaction here in the Inner West. It's time for the Government to come to the party!"

Quotes attributable to Shadow Environment Minister Penny Sharpe

"I call on the Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton to join the community on this important environmental reform.

“Plastic bags kill thousands of turtles, dolphins, fish, and birds each year. A ban can help stop the carnage.

“NSW should have been leading the nation in banning single-use plastic bags, but instead the Premier is dragging her feet on this important environmental reform.”

Quotes attributable to Shadow Minister for the North Coast and Deputy Opposition leader in the NSW Legislative Council – Walt Secord

“The community – especially the North Coast – has spoken and they are ready for action on single use plastic bags. They want a State-ban, but they are puzzled by the priorities of the Berejiklian Government.

 “The whole country – in fact, large sections of the developed world – are moving to ban single use plastic bags, but still the Liberals and Nationals are moving in another direction.

“The Premier will spend $2.7 billion on stadiums but they refuse to act on single-use plastic bags.”