WASTE AVOIDANCE AND RESOURCE RECOVERY LEVY —
REGIONAL WESTERN AUSTRALIA
566. Hon JIM CHOWN to the Minister for Environment:
Does the government have any intention to expand the waste
avoidance and resource recovery levy into regional Western Australia; and, if
so, why?
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON
replied:
I thank the honourable member for the question.
Can I say at the outset I was very pleased to meet with
councils from right across Western Australia a couple of months ago now, who
asked me whether the waste levy would be increased this year. I was able to
confirm that due to COVID-19, there would not be an increase in the waste levy
in the next financial year. However, the state ''Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030'',
which we announced early last year, did promise an action plan that
would review the waste levy and look at further increases over the years ahead
and where the waste levy should be applied. From time to time, I hear
allegations from metro councils and metro waste operators who say that waste
from the metropolitan area is going to the south west of the state in
particular so that people in the metro area can escape paying the waste levy.
That allegation is raised with me constantly. The waste levy review—the
action plan review—is out for consultation at the moment. That closes
on 15 July. If the honourable member has any issues or an interest in that, or,
indeed, his constituents have, I would encourage him to make a submission.