A ministerial statement by the ACT Minister for Mental Health marking Schizophrenia awareness week.

A ministerial statement by the ACT Minister for Mental Health marking Schizophrenia awareness week.

Schizophrenia awareness week. Ft. Emma Davidson MLA

By building urban ecosystems, we will make Canberra a refuge for the plants, animals and ecological communities devastated by climate change, habitat loss, bushfires and urban sprawl.  So on this World Bee Day let’s remember our untiring insect friends who power the pollination of the plants we love and need. Bee populations are under threat. Destruction of their natural habitat, intensive farming practices, and pests and diseases are just some of the complex reasons driving a decline in both the number and diversity of bees. The ACT is also making concerted efforts to reduce the use of bee-harming chemicals, phase out neonicotinoids and reduce the use of glyphosate and other pesticides that can decimate our bee-loved insect populations.  The ACT Government has adopted integrated weed management practices that reduces chemical use and incorporate other techniques such as flame weeding, biological controls and manual weed removal.  For more about World Bee Day → https://www.worldbeeday.org.au/ #WeNeedBees

By building urban ecosystems, we will make Canberra a refuge for the plants, animals and ecological communities devastated by climate change, habitat loss, bushfires and urban sprawl.  So on this World Bee Day let’s remember our untiring insect friends who power the pollination of the plants we love and need. Bee populations are under threat. Destruction of their natural habitat, intensive farming practices, and pests and diseases are just some of the complex reasons driving a decline in both the number and diversity of bees. The ACT is also making concerted efforts to reduce the use of bee-harming chemicals, phase out neonicotinoids and reduce the use of glyphosate and other pesticides that can decimate our bee-loved insect populations.  The ACT Government has adopted integrated weed management practices that reduces chemical use and incorporate other techniques such as flame weeding, biological controls and manual weed removal.  For more about World Bee Day → <a href="https://www.worldbeeday.org.au/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.worldbeeday.org.au/</a> #WeNeedBees

World Bee Day. Ft. Rebecca Vassarotti MLA

Extending voting rights to include 16 year olds is an issue the ACT Greens have been committed to for years. The evidence is clear that our young people are capable and responsible, and that they have a huge stake in the future that governments are creating today. Other countries have made this important reform and the doomsayers have already been proven wrong. In this conversation we discuss the issues surrounding this reform. For more information →  https://greens.org.au/act/news/have-your-say-expanding-voting-rights-young-people-act

Extending voting rights to include 16 year olds is an issue the ACT Greens have been committed to for years. The evidence is clear that our young people are capable and responsible, and that they have a huge stake in the future that governments are creating today. Other countries have made this important reform and the doomsayers have already been proven wrong. In this conversation we discuss the issues surrounding this reform. For more information → <a href="https://greens.org.au/act/news/have-your-say-expanding-voting-rights-young-people-act" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> https://greens.org.au/act/news/have-your-say-expanding-voting-rights-young-people-act</a>

Green Talk 02 - Extending Voting Rights, It’s their future. Ft. Rebecca Vassarotti MLA and Andrew Braddock MLA

Jo Clay

With all the talk about e-bikes lately it was great to get out and talk to Jake from Canberra Electric Bikes in Phillip about the possibilities of these vehicles in the Canberra transport mix. Between reducing congestion, encouraging exercise, and slashing greenhouse gas emissions e-bikes have the potential to revolutionise the way we get to work and play, and all for the better. For too many Canberrans right now a quality e-bike, suitable for their daily use or for carrying cargo, is out of reach. Hopefully we can find ways to support businesses like Jake’s and get more Canberrans on two wheels, and out of cars faster!

With all the talk about e-bikes lately it was great to get out and talk to Jake from Canberra Electric Bikes in Phillip about the possibilities of these vehicles in the Canberra transport mix. Between reducing congestion, encouraging exercise, and slashing greenhouse gas emissions e-bikes have the potential to revolutionise the way we get to work and play, and all for the better. For too many Canberrans right now a quality e-bike, suitable for their daily use or for carrying cargo, is out of reach. Hopefully we can find ways to support businesses like Jake’s and get more Canberrans on two wheels, and out of cars faster!

Talking about e-bikes. Ft. Jo Clay MLA

Tim Hollo

This week, I visited Patchwork Urban Farm with Tim Hollo to hear how Karina and Mikey's farm is going! It was great to talk about the importance of urban agriculture and the ACT's development of a Capital Food and Fibre Strategy, which will provide an exciting opportunity to shape our future agriculture industry.

This week, I visited Patchwork Urban Farm with Tim Hollo to hear how Karina and Mikey's farm is going! It was great to talk about the importance of urban agriculture and the ACT's development of a Capital Food and Fibre Strategy, which will provide an exciting opportunity to shape our future agriculture industry.

Visiting Patchwork Urban Farm. Ft Rebecca Vassarotti and Tim Hollo

Expanding voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds will result in better, longer-term policies, and deeper engagement with young people on decisions that could affect the rest of their lives. Yesterday I spoke with Dr Justin Barker of the Youth Coalition of the ACT about what the data and evidence shows us about young people’s capacity to vote. You can give your feedback on the issue and the legislation by taking the survey on the ACT Legislative Assembly website. The survey closes on the 7th of Feb, so share with your networks and make sure your voice is heard on this important issue! Be heard now → https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MVV29PV

Expanding voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds will result in better, longer-term policies, and deeper engagement with young people on decisions that could affect the rest of their lives. Yesterday I spoke with Dr Justin Barker of the Youth Coalition of the ACT about what the data and evidence shows us about young people’s capacity to vote. You can give your feedback on the issue and the legislation by taking the survey on the ACT Legislative Assembly website. The survey closes on the 7th of Feb, so share with your networks and make sure your voice is heard on this important issue! Be heard now → <a href="https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MVV29PV" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MVV29PV</a>

Expanding voting rights. Ft. Andrew Braddock MLA

Shane Rattenbury

I hope you’ve had some rest and recuperation over recent weeks -- although it has been a tumultuous, confusing, and sometimes deeply frustrating time. I wanted to recap for you how we got to this point, share a bit about where we’re going from here -- and to acknowledge the very real challenges and concerns we’re all facing. Read more → https://greens.org.au/act/news/covid-advice-has-changed-statement-shane-rattenbury

I hope you’ve had some rest and recuperation over recent weeks -- although it has been a tumultuous, confusing, and sometimes deeply frustrating time. I wanted to recap for you how we got to this point, share a bit about where we’re going from here -- and to acknowledge the very real challenges and concerns we’re all facing. Read more → <a href="https://greens.org.au/act/news/covid-advice-has-changed-statement-shane-rattenbury" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://greens.org.au/act/news/covid-advice-has-changed-statement-shane-rattenbury</a>

COVID advice has changed. Ft Shane Rattenbury MLA

My Culture, My Canberra is a celebration of community - where you will hear from Canberrans from all walks of life, coming together to celebrate our differences. This month's speakers are Ericha Smyth (Eky) and Wisnu Trianugeraha (Wes).    Eky is currently studying a Bachelor of International Relations at the Australian National University with a Southeast Asian Studies minor. Since moving to Australia in 2016, Ericha has been involved in various Southeast Asian affairs including PPIA ACT, interning at the Victorian Government Trade and Investment Southeast Asian division, and as a delegate of AIYEP 2021.    Ericha seeks to promote cross-cultural understanding and enhance Southeast Asian literacy in local Australian communities.    Wes is a Master of Public Policy student at the ANU. As an Indonesian, he has spent years volunteering at a youth-led non-government organisation providing the space for young Indonesians and Australians to connect and share their cultures.

My Culture, My Canberra 4. Ft: Jo Clay MLA

Jo Clay MLA reads her recent opinion piece on why the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference mattered to Canberra.

Jo Clay MLA reads her recent opinion piece on why the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference mattered to Canberra.

Read the signs of COP26. Ft. Jo Clay MLA

Featuring: Dr Sophie Lewis, Minister Shane Rattenbury MLA and Minister Rebecca Vassarotti MLA, and Tim Hollo Last night Dr Sophie Lewis, ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, spoke about a recent report prepared by her office outlining the ACT’s scope 3 emissions footprint. Scope 3 emissions are the emissions that are generated outside our borders, including the emissions to transport goods into the ACT, as well as emissions that result from food production, building materials, clothing and any other consumables that are imported into the ACT. Under greenhouse gas accounting practices, these emissions are counted in the area where they occur, so aren’t included in the ACT’s annual emissions inventory. This report, commissioned by Minister Rattenbury in 2020, makes the ACT the first jurisdiction in Australia to calculate the community’s indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the goods and services that we buy. The report outlines key sectors contributing to the ACT’s scope 3 emissions and suggests a pathway forward to reducing them. The ACT has made great progress in cutting our emissions locally and it’s important that we continue to do so. This report is a reminder of the extent of change that is required throughout our economy and supply chains in order to decarbonise and that we can influence emissions beyond our borders. It also highlights the importance of reducing consumption and of all jurisdictions reaching net zero emissions and finding ways to produce zero emissions, low-impact products.

Featuring: Dr Sophie Lewis, Minister Shane Rattenbury MLA and Minister Rebecca Vassarotti MLA, and Tim Hollo Last night Dr Sophie Lewis, ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, spoke about a recent report prepared by her office outlining the ACT’s scope 3 emissions footprint. Scope 3 emissions are the emissions that are generated outside our borders, including the emissions to transport goods into the ACT, as well as emissions that result from food production, building materials, clothing and any other consumables that are imported into the ACT. Under greenhouse gas accounting practices, these emissions are counted in the area where they occur, so aren’t included in the ACT’s annual emissions inventory. This report, commissioned by Minister Rattenbury in 2020, makes the ACT the first jurisdiction in Australia to calculate the community’s indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the goods and services that we buy. The report outlines key sectors contributing to the ACT’s scope 3 emissions and suggests a pathway forward to reducing them. The ACT has made great progress in cutting our emissions locally and it’s important that we continue to do so. This report is a reminder of the extent of change that is required throughout our economy and supply chains in order to decarbonise and that we can influence emissions beyond our borders. It also highlights the importance of reducing consumption and of all jurisdictions reaching net zero emissions and finding ways to produce zero emissions, low-impact products.

Scope 3 emissions in the ACT. Ft. Shane Rattenbury MLA and Rebecca Vassarotti MLA

A podcast for the ACT Greens' elected representatives to talk about the big ideas they've been working on. Authorised by Shane Rattenbury MLA for the ACT Greens.

A recording of an online panel discussion about the COP26 United Nations climate summit currently underway in Glasgow.  Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Emissions Reductions, hosts a conversation with Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young who is attending the conference, Professor Mark Howden who is the Director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy &amp; Disaster Solutions and Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council, and Jahin Tanvir, local climate activist and 2021 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year who attended the pre-COP 'Youth4Climate' event in Italy.

A recording of an online panel discussion about the COP26 United Nations climate summit currently underway in Glasgow. Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Emissions Reductions, hosts a conversation with Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young who is attending the conference, Professor Mark Howden who is the Director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy &amp; Disaster Solutions and Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council, and Jahin Tanvir, local climate activist and 2021 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year who attended the pre-COP 'Youth4Climate' event in Italy.

COP26, Glasgow, and what it means for you. Ft Shane Rattenbury

This month our speaker is Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng. Tjanara is a Wakka Wakka woman, academic, unionist, former public servant and proud grandmother. She’s dedicated her life to tackling big problems like First Nations sovereignty, international mining conventions, employment and workplace retention, family violence, homelessness and the growing inequality gap. Tjanara will share what culture means to her and how Canberra’s many cultures make us stronger.

This month our speaker is Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng. Tjanara is a Wakka Wakka woman, academic, unionist, former public servant and proud grandmother. She’s dedicated her life to tackling big problems like First Nations sovereignty, international mining conventions, employment and workplace retention, family violence, homelessness and the growing inequality gap. Tjanara will share what culture means to her and how Canberra’s many cultures make us stronger.

My Culture, My Canberra 3. Ft: Jo Clay MLA

Speech given in the Legislative Assembly in reply to the 2021-22 ACT Budget by Shane Rattenbury MLA as leader of the ACT Greens.

Budget Reply Speech 2021-22. Ft Shane Rattenbury MLA

For this month's My Culture, My Canberra Jo Clay MLA is joined by Nataša Šojić and Skye Predavec discussing their Balkan heritage.    My Culture, My Canberra is a celebration of community - where you will hear from Canberrans from all walks of life, coming together to celebrate our differences.    Nataša is a proud Serbian Orthodox woman and the ACT Greens candidate for Fenner. She’s the first in her family to be born in Australia! Her family's heritage is from Serbia and more specifically, Herzegovina. Nataša will reflect on growing up in Regional Victoria with English as her second language, as well as forming her identity unique to her family.    Skye is a PPE student at ANU who moved to Canberra for University. A proud Queer Woman, her heritage is important to her, from Scotland to Croatia and from a Grandad who fought against the Ustaše in WW2, or a Granny who made the best shortbread in the world.

My Culture, My Canberra 2. Ft: Jo Clay MLA

Join Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr Sue Wareham, former Senator Scott Ludlam, nonviolent conflict resolution expert Felicity Gray, WagePeace activist Margaret Pestorius and Green Institute Director and our candidate for Canberra, Tim Hollo, to discuss what it would actually look like to have an approach to international relations in contemporary Australia that centred peace and nonviolence.                  The Morrison government recently announced that it will spend over $90 billion to purchase nuclear submarines that will undermine friendly and trusting international relations.     This has launched a much needed discussion about how we as a nation want to engage with the world.     But the many voices for peace have been missing from this debate.     It's a travesty that any discussion about peace and nonviolence is ignored and dismissed by a hawkish and bullying government, a timid Labor opposition, and a media establishment who can't seem to envision anything other than the status quo.     That’s why we are presenting a conversation on peace and nonviolence in Australian foreign policy, co-hosted with the Green Institute and the Medical Association for the Prevention of War.

Peace and nonviolence in Australian foreign policy. Ft. Greens candidate for Canberra, Tim Hollo

Jo is joined by two amazing women, Dr Bosibori Better and Dr Jane Chimungeni-Brassington, for the first session in a new monthly series 'My Culture, My Canberra.'     Jane and Bosi share some great ideas about their experiences and how we can make Canberra even better.

My Culture, My Canberra 1. Ft: Jo Clay MLA

Tjanara Goreng Goreng

The ACT Greens team discuss the challenges, opportunities and different options we can use to secure stronger climate action. ACT Minister for Emissions Reduction Shane Rattenbury and MLA for Ginnindera Jo Clay update us on the state of play in the ACT - the only jurisdiction in Australia with policies aligned to the IPCC's recommendations. Greens candidates for the federal election Tim Hollo and Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng reflect on the state of federal climate policies and the implications of the IPCC report on the upcoming election campaign. We then hear from participants on their view on the effectiveness of different strategies, messages and goals, and how we can use our unique role as citizens living in the national capital to influence federal climate policy.

The ACT Greens team discuss the challenges, opportunities and different options we can use to secure stronger climate action. ACT Minister for Emissions Reduction Shane Rattenbury and MLA for Ginnindera Jo Clay update us on the state of play in the ACT - the only jurisdiction in Australia with policies aligned to the IPCC's recommendations. Greens candidates for the federal election Tim Hollo and Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng reflect on the state of federal climate policies and the implications of the IPCC report on the upcoming election campaign. We then hear from participants on their view on the effectiveness of different strategies, messages and goals, and how we can use our unique role as citizens living in the national capital to influence federal climate policy.

Climate action in the ACT - The ACT Greens view. Ft: Shane Rattenbury MLA, Jo Clay MLA, and election candidates Tim Hollo and Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng

This podcast is based on a statement I made to the Legislative Assembly last week on the important work we are doing as part of the ACT Healthy Waterways program. Our local waterways support so much life and are one of the great things about living in Canberra. Many of us enjoy visiting these waterways regularly, whether for exercise, recreation or social events. They are also hubs for biodiversity, supporting a myriad of plant and animal life. For years now, blue-green algal blooms have afflicted our urban lakes. Lake Tuggeranong is regularly closed in summer due to outbreaks of blue-green algae, and last summer was one of the worst for blue-green algae in Lake Burley Griffin in years. Our other urban ponds are not immune to this problem either. Blue-green algal blooms are a symptom of urban water pollution, which means that there are likely to be other, less apparent pollutants in our waterways as well. Our urban lakes and ponds were designed to trap pollution bound for the Murrumbidgee River and downstream communities, and they are doing this job extremely well.  However, today’s community expectations are broader than just this purpose. The community also values our lakes and ponds for recreation, amenity, and for the commercial values they provide. They can be equally great places to hold a picnic or a triathlon.  Residents and businesses alike are attracted to lakeshore views—think of the Kingston foreshore. But these values are diminished every time there is an algal bloom. The ACT Government has just wrapped up a $94M co-investment program with the Australian Government to improve water quality in the region—the ACT Healthy Waterways Project.  Nineteen water quality assets—raingardens, wetlands, ponds and channel restorations—were constructed. Over 460,000 water plant seedlings were planted in 17 of the water quality assets and these grew to cover a combined treatment area of almost nine hectares. In addition, the riparian zone of the Molonglo River upstream of Lake Burley Griffin was restored to arrest channel erosion. The area around these projects was landscaped and over 160,000 herbs, shrubs and trees were planted from a plant list of local native species. Together these projects are now reducing the yearly load of pollutants in our waterways by an estimated average of 1900 tons. Around twenty percent of the pollution that was destined for Lake Tuggeranong is now being intercepted by the seven water quality assets built there. Feedback from residents about the water quality assets is very positive, with many locals appreciating the amenity and opportunities for exercise these afford. Birdwatchers have enjoyed visits to the assets and drawn attention to some rare migratory visitors to the wetlands. The estimated benefits of these water quality assets are based on water quality models.  Healthy Waterways monitored water quality across Canberra and the performance of several existing assets to improve the accuracy of these models, giving us a better understanding of their value. Research was conducted by the University of Canberra to understand the links between pollution in stormwater and Lake Tuggeranong sediments, and the occurrence of algal blooms in the lake. What we learned from this work is that more water quality improvements are needed.  Stormwater coming from Canberra suburbs is carrying high levels of pollution into our lakes. Research by the University of Canberra suggests that it is possible to suppress an algal bloom in the Lakes via the use of “Phoslock” which is a clay product developed by the CSIRO which binds phosphorus in water with sediments, and reduces unwanted algal growth. Unfortunately, it was also determined that four to five times the amount of phosphorus required to sustain a bloom was still entering the lake from its catchment and this would very quickly negate the benefits of any such suppressant. Until we can manage this, there is no point in spending resources locking up the phosphorus in the lake sediments as the algae will be amply fed by phosphorus pollution entering from the catchment. The work also shows that it will be a major challenge for water quality assets to filter out all of this pollution before it reaches our urban lakes, where it can cause problems like blue-green algal blooms. So, water quality assets are an essential tool to improve water quality but we can’t rely on these alone to solve the problem. To stop these algal blooms, we also need to reduce catchment pollution at its source. Every lake and pond is different, but these findings are relevant outside of the Tuggeranong catchment, which is the catchment most intensively studied. We know, for example, that Lake Burley Griffin is on the cusp of either good or poor water quality. Last summer it tipped towards poor water quality, after improvements made over the last decade. We know we need to do more to prevent pollution from entering the lake in wet years like last summer.  We need to reduce inputs of pollution from suburbs that drain into Lake Burley Griffin and be careful that any future developments in the catchment do not tip the lake towards more regular episodes of poor water quality and blue-green algal blooms. So what steps can we take to further improve water quality? The ACT Government continues to invest in innovative ways to manage water quality problems. The ACT’s first large-scale floating wetland has recently been deployed in the Village Creek bay of Lake Tuggeranong. The aim of this wetland, together with modifications to the gross pollutant trap just upstream, is to discourage blue-green algal growth by taking up nutrients that would otherwise pollute the water.  This wetland is undergoing a two-year trial after which it will either be left in place or relocated to a stormwater pond. I had the privilege of inspecting this great industry-supported innovation when I launched the floating wetland earlier this year. This autumn, ACT NRM and Healthy Waterways joined forces to trial a new H2OK public education program in five suburbs across Canberra that focussed on preventing autumn leaves from entering drains. Nutrients rapidly leach out of leaves on the ground, so leaves that accumulate in roadside drains contribute to the nutrient pollution in stormwater. The H2OK program encouraged householders to keep drains adjacent to their blocks clear of leaves. The results of this trial are now being evaluated by Griffith University. The Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate has begun planning for a new program of work: Stage 2 of Healthy Waterways. In Stage 1 the focus of infrastructure was on water quality assets that filter pollutants from stormwater. But as we have just heard, water research and monitoring suggests that this approach is not going to solve the problem alone. Therefore, in Stage 2 the Healthy Waterways team is exploring new ways to prevent stormwater pollution from occurring in the first place. Pollution is generated in urban areas because runoff is diverted to concrete channels rather than flowing through soils and vegetation, which act to cleanse it before it makes its way into waterways. So the team is investigating infrastructure to make use of green corridors and spaces within our catchments to cleanse stormwater. They are also looking into ways to store and slowly release stormwater so that it does not overload the water quality assets in the system. Plans are being drawn up in parts of the Tuggeranong catchment and in selected locations across Canberra, including in the Yerrabi Pond catchment. It is anticipated that Stage 2 of Healthy Waterways will rely on much more than just infrastructure to improve water quality. An extensive public education campaign is planned that will focus on what households can do to prevent leaves and grass from entering drains, building on lessons from the trial this past autumn. EPSDD will also work with the Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate to understand lifecycle costs of assets and how to better manage green spaces, and continue its work with the Suburban Land Agency to reduce the amount of pollution escaping from new suburbs under development. Plans for Stage 2 research and water monitoring are focussed on narrowing down the sources and quantum of pollution so that infrastructure can be sited where it is the most cost-effective. Water quality models will be upgraded to be more accurate and to take into account the measured performance of recently constructed water quality assets. This will allow for comprehensive catchment plans to be developed for urban lakes and ponds, as well as some rural catchments. The plans will detail various options—actions, assets and their locations—available to Government to manage Canberra’s water pollution problems, and their associated costs and benefits. Therefore, the Government is working to build on the achievements of Stage 1 of Healthy Waterways, both for the benefit of the environment and the wellbeing of Canberra’s residents and businesses that make use of waterways. Because, as the recent and comprehensive Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity emphasises, environmental health is not an alternative to economic health but a contributor to it. The Dasgupta Review is an independent, global review on the Economics of Biodiversity led by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta who is the Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge. The Review was commissioned in 2019 by the British Treasury and has been supported by an Advisory Panel drawn from public policy, science, economics, finance and business interests. Healthy catchments produce clean water that not only benefits aquatic flora and fauna but all those who rely on our lakes and ponds, including businesses and community. This information highlights the strong correlation the Healthy Waterways initiative has with the Wellbeing domains, namely Environment and climate, Social connection and Living standards respectively. The cost–benefit analysis of the original Healthy Waterways initiative shows the program has present value benefits of $127 million and present value costs of $76 million. Sensitivity analyses indicate the net present value ranges from $24 million to $126 million and the benefit–cost ratio ranges from 1.3 to 2.6. These results indicate that the program was economically viable as the benefits of the program outweigh the costs. I would like to commend the achievements of the Healthy Waterways initiative and congratulate the small, dedicated team at EPSDD who delivered this work.

This podcast is based on a statement I made to the Legislative Assembly last week on the important work we are doing as part of the ACT Healthy Waterways program. Our local waterways support so much life and are one of the great things about living in Canberra. Many of us enjoy visiting these waterways regularly, whether for exercise, recreation or social events. They are also hubs for biodiversity, supporting a myriad of plant and animal life. For years now, blue-green algal blooms have afflicted our urban lakes. Lake Tuggeranong is regularly closed in summer due to outbreaks of blue-green algae, and last summer was one of the worst for blue-green algae in Lake Burley Griffin in years. Our other urban ponds are not immune to this problem either. Blue-green algal blooms are a symptom of urban water pollution, which means that there are likely to be other, less apparent pollutants in our waterways as well. Our urban lakes and ponds were designed to trap pollution bound for the Murrumbidgee River and downstream communities, and they are doing this job extremely well.  However, today’s community expectations are broader than just this purpose. The community also values our lakes and ponds for recreation, amenity, and for the commercial values they provide. They can be equally great places to hold a picnic or a triathlon.  Residents and businesses alike are attracted to lakeshore views—think of the Kingston foreshore. But these values are diminished every time there is an algal bloom. The ACT Government has just wrapped up a $94M co-investment program with the Australian Government to improve water quality in the region—the ACT Healthy Waterways Project.  Nineteen water quality assets—raingardens, wetlands, ponds and channel restorations—were constructed. Over 460,000 water plant seedlings were planted in 17 of the water quality assets and these grew to cover a combined treatment area of almost nine hectares. In addition, the riparian zone of the Molonglo River upstream of Lake Burley Griffin was restored to arrest channel erosion. The area around these projects was landscaped and over 160,000 herbs, shrubs and trees were planted from a plant list of local native species. Together these projects are now reducing the yearly load of pollutants in our waterways by an estimated average of 1900 tons. Around twenty percent of the pollution that was destined for Lake Tuggeranong is now being intercepted by the seven water quality assets built there. Feedback from residents about the water quality assets is very positive, with many locals appreciating the amenity and opportunities for exercise these afford. Birdwatchers have enjoyed visits to the assets and drawn attention to some rare migratory visitors to the wetlands. The estimated benefits of these water quality assets are based on water quality models.  Healthy Waterways monitored water quality across Canberra and the performance of several existing assets to improve the accuracy of these models, giving us a better understanding of their value. Research was conducted by the University of Canberra to understand the links between pollution in stormwater and Lake Tuggeranong sediments, and the occurrence of algal blooms in the lake. What we learned from this work is that more water quality improvements are needed.  Stormwater coming from Canberra suburbs is carrying high levels of pollution into our lakes. Research by the University of Canberra suggests that it is possible to suppress an algal bloom in the Lakes via the use of “Phoslock” which is a clay product developed by the CSIRO which binds phosphorus in water with sediments, and reduces unwanted algal growth. Unfortunately, it was also determined that four to five times the amount of phosphorus required to sustain a bloom was still entering the lake from its catchment and this would very quickly negate the benefits of any such suppressant. Until we can manage this, there is no point in spending resources locking up the phosphorus in the lake sediments as the algae will be amply fed by phosphorus pollution entering from the catchment. The work also shows that it will be a major challenge for water quality assets to filter out all of this pollution before it reaches our urban lakes, where it can cause problems like blue-green algal blooms. So, water quality assets are an essential tool to improve water quality but we can’t rely on these alone to solve the problem. To stop these algal blooms, we also need to reduce catchment pollution at its source. Every lake and pond is different, but these findings are relevant outside of the Tuggeranong catchment, which is the catchment most intensively studied. We know, for example, that Lake Burley Griffin is on the cusp of either good or poor water quality. Last summer it tipped towards poor water quality, after improvements made over the last decade. We know we need to do more to prevent pollution from entering the lake in wet years like last summer.  We need to reduce inputs of pollution from suburbs that drain into Lake Burley Griffin and be careful that any future developments in the catchment do not tip the lake towards more regular episodes of poor water quality and blue-green algal blooms. So what steps can we take to further improve water quality? The ACT Government continues to invest in innovative ways to manage water quality problems. The ACT’s first large-scale floating wetland has recently been deployed in the Village Creek bay of Lake Tuggeranong. The aim of this wetland, together with modifications to the gross pollutant trap just upstream, is to discourage blue-green algal growth by taking up nutrients that would otherwise pollute the water.  This wetland is undergoing a two-year trial after which it will either be left in place or relocated to a stormwater pond. I had the privilege of inspecting this great industry-supported innovation when I launched the floating wetland earlier this year. This autumn, ACT NRM and Healthy Waterways joined forces to trial a new H2OK public education program in five suburbs across Canberra that focussed on preventing autumn leaves from entering drains. Nutrients rapidly leach out of leaves on the ground, so leaves that accumulate in roadside drains contribute to the nutrient pollution in stormwater. The H2OK program encouraged householders to keep drains adjacent to their blocks clear of leaves. The results of this trial are now being evaluated by Griffith University. The Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate has begun planning for a new program of work: Stage 2 of Healthy Waterways. In Stage 1 the focus of infrastructure was on water quality assets that filter pollutants from stormwater. But as we have just heard, water research and monitoring suggests that this approach is not going to solve the problem alone. Therefore, in Stage 2 the Healthy Waterways team is exploring new ways to prevent stormwater pollution from occurring in the first place. Pollution is generated in urban areas because runoff is diverted to concrete channels rather than flowing through soils and vegetation, which act to cleanse it before it makes its way into waterways. So the team is investigating infrastructure to make use of green corridors and spaces within our catchments to cleanse stormwater. They are also looking into ways to store and slowly release stormwater so that it does not overload the water quality assets in the system. Plans are being drawn up in parts of the Tuggeranong catchment and in selected locations across Canberra, including in the Yerrabi Pond catchment. It is anticipated that Stage 2 of Healthy Waterways will rely on much more than just infrastructure to improve water quality. An extensive public education campaign is planned that will focus on what households can do to prevent leaves and grass from entering drains, building on lessons from the trial this past autumn. EPSDD will also work with the Transport Canberra and City Services Directorate to understand lifecycle costs of assets and how to better manage green spaces, and continue its work with the Suburban Land Agency to reduce the amount of pollution escaping from new suburbs under development. Plans for Stage 2 research and water monitoring are focussed on narrowing down the sources and quantum of pollution so that infrastructure can be sited where it is the most cost-effective. Water quality models will be upgraded to be more accurate and to take into account the measured performance of recently constructed water quality assets. This will allow for comprehensive catchment plans to be developed for urban lakes and ponds, as well as some rural catchments. The plans will detail various options—actions, assets and their locations—available to Government to manage Canberra’s water pollution problems, and their associated costs and benefits. Therefore, the Government is working to build on the achievements of Stage 1 of Healthy Waterways, both for the benefit of the environment and the wellbeing of Canberra’s residents and businesses that make use of waterways. Because, as the recent and comprehensive Dasgupta Review on the Economics of Biodiversity emphasises, environmental health is not an alternative to economic health but a contributor to it. The Dasgupta Review is an independent, global review on the Economics of Biodiversity led by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta who is the Frank Ramsey Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge. The Review was commissioned in 2019 by the British Treasury and has been supported by an Advisory Panel drawn from public policy, science, economics, finance and business interests. Healthy catchments produce clean water that not only benefits aquatic flora and fauna but all those who rely on our lakes and ponds, including businesses and community. This information highlights the strong correlation the Healthy Waterways initiative has with the Wellbeing domains, namely Environment and climate, Social connection and Living standards respectively. The cost–benefit analysis of the original Healthy Waterways initiative shows the program has present value benefits of $127 million and present value costs of $76 million. Sensitivity analyses indicate the net present value ranges from $24 million to $126 million and the benefit–cost ratio ranges from 1.3 to 2.6. These results indicate that the program was economically viable as the benefits of the program outweigh the costs. I would like to commend the achievements of the Healthy Waterways initiative and congratulate the small, dedicated team at EPSDD who delivered this work.

Waterways Statement. Ft: Shane Rattenbury

I gave a version of this speech to the Inaugural Australian Repair Summit last week and I’d like to share the important issue of the Right To Repair to the online audience now. This is a really important issue, and one that I’m very passionate about, both as a Minister for Consumer Affairs, but also as a Green and an environmentalist. The summit had the very specific intent of engaging with Government, policy makers and industry to cover detailed and thorny questions arising from the emergence of the Right to Repair movement in Australia – itself a response to ongoing and large-scale trends. But I think it’s appropriate to start from a much wider angle in order to better prepare us for zeroing in on the nitty gritty – and perhaps even to suggest a guiding philosophical viewpoint. I’m actually talking about our essence as human beings. One of the universal attributes of the human species is our creativity, our inventiveness, our ingenuity. Throughout human history and pre-history, those have been intricate, connected things, both within individuals and across cultures and societies. You only have to look at ancient crafts like knitting. The earliest surviving pieces of knitting are several socks found in Egypt and dating to between 1000 and 1300 AD. When I look at these amazing thousand-year-old socks I’m struck not just by how inventive they are in a technical sense… Like, who first had the idea to use a pair of needles to create these endless interlocking loops? We have no idea. Was it someone just fiddling around with a piece of string and some sticks? … and not even just by how practical and carefully thought out they are, with proper heel and toe shaping, and tapering calves, and fine cotton yarn. … I’m struck by how creative and how beautiful they are, in a way that’s entirely superfluous to their practical function. Yet this superfluous beauty is a common factor across a vast proportion of these kinds of artefacts. It suggests not just that knitting these socks was probably important to their creator, but that creativity and what you might call emotional ownership is an integral part of human ingenuity. We tend to take these kinds of intricate patterns for granted now, assuming a team of sock designers, and complex industrial-scale machinery. But back then, it would have been an act of personal artistry, combined with the practical inventiveness of knowing how to thread those different coloured strands on the inside of the sock so that they didn’t spoil the pattern. There’s a whole huge explosion of creativity and invention behind these socks. Again, we don’t know how long – years or decades or centuries - it took to get from those first awkward loops on two sticks that we can imagine, to flat, clumsy garments, to shaping and patterns like this, but it illustrates another element to the connected nature of human ingenuity – the way ideas spark from one person to the next to the next, like batons passed in a relay, improved upon or reimagined with each pair of hands and eyes, from the first wooden wheels or simple canoes, to an aircraft’s retractable landing gear or a 400-metre-long container ship. But there’s a paradox at work in our modern civilisation, thanks to thousands of years of this relay of ingenuity. Most of the stuff all of us use now, we couldn’t make from scratch in a pink fit. In that sense, our own inventiveness as a species has robbed us of ownership of our inventiveness as individuals. Yet surely such a fundamental human attribute as our creativity and our ingenuity, and our ownership of those things, has to also be considered a fundamental human right – as important for us to access as the right to air and water and shelter and food. The right to tinker with our stuff, to get it fixed or changed or improved, to manage it how we want, make it last as long as we can. The right to get it repaired. Which gets us to the point we’ve arrived at now. It’s not only the complexity of current technology that robs individuals of the kind of connection to our things and the ownership of ingenuity that I’ve been talking about, it’s corporate behaviour and existing gaps or imbalances in our laws. I’m sure I don’t need to spend a lot of time detailing what is happening, or why it’s a problem from multiple perspectives – proprietary service manuals that make it impossible for independent repair businesses to do their work, companies that simply don’t make available the replacement parts for their products, warranties that are voided if a consumer or independent repairer so much as unscrews a backplate. As the ACT’s Minister for Consumer Affairs from November 2012 until late last year, I’ve been working on this issue for a number of years, and as a political party the Greens both federally and in the ACT have been aware of it for some time as well. Just now, I focused on the fundamental and rather abstract right of human beings to express – and own - their inventiveness, but specific consumer rights around products they’ve purchased are also crucial. As a matter of principle, consumers should be able to use an independent repairer or access the resources needed to repair a product themselves. Further - and very much a central concern of environmental and green groups worldwide - with our species now consuming far more of the world’s resources than the planet can handle, preserving resources and reducing waste have become existential needs.   E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in Australia – growing three times as fast as other municipal waste. The average Australian household generates 73 kilograms of it annually, while globally the total figure is more than 50 million tonnes a year. We’re not disposing of it properly, and we’re squandering resources – lithium, tellurium, copper - that will eventually run out. The deliberate shortening of a product’s lifespan – planned obsolescence - by refusing to supply component parts or discontinuing software updates needs to be countered. Companies and manufacturers might like it; ordinary people hate it. They want to purchase a washing-machine or a laptop knowing it will last many years and that it can be repaired. The growth of grassroots efforts such as repair cafes speak to our hunger to move away from the throwaway culture that commercial interests have pushed us towards. The Bower, a registered charity committed to reuse and repair, now has four locations in Sydney and a whole range of activities from donation and collection services to repair cafes to and e-tool library and a Tiny House Building course focused on using recycled and reclaimed materials, extending the lifespan of all sorts of things in inspiring ways. We’ve seen some egregious conduct at the corporate level. As of February this year, American company John Deere was still failing to honour its agreement to voluntarily make its repair tools, software guides and diagnostic equipment available to ordinary farmers. The push for the Right to Repair is no longer simply happening at the grassroots level. Government recognition of the problem is building. Last month the Australian Government Productivity Commission released its draft report assessing the need for Right to Repair laws in Australia, with “a focus on whether consumers face any unnecessary barriers to repair that require a government policy response.” The short answer, of course, is that most of us here today think they do face those barriers, and a government policy response is required. The perspective of manufacturers does need to be considered, of course, but we also need to be a bit cynical when there’s a push from certain companies to treat this purely as a matter of security and IP protection, when in fact to a large degree their motivation is rent-seeking. We also have justification for being cynical about corporations that promise to police themselves. I’m not going to name any particular companies, but there have been examples of companies voluntarily undertaking to make software and repair manuals available and then arguing that this undertaking meant that right-to-repair legislation was unnecessary. Years later the problem continues, and we can see that these companies were simply kicking the can down the road. In the ACT, we’re already well ahead of the Productivity Commission’s report in our own thinking. In fact, I’m quite proud to say that our small jurisdiction is the one that has pushed this issue along, including precipitating the Commission’s report. On the ACT’s initiative, the Consumer Affairs Forum in 2019 pushed for an examination of potential policy options to address the issue, and a formal referral to the Productivity Commission was the Forum’s recommended outcome. As noted, this is only a draft report from the Productivity Commission, and I’m sure you’re aware that there is opportunity to make submissions towards the report’s final version. For anyone who doesn’t know, the deadline for this is the 23rd of July – so only two weeks away. The report rightly notes the complexity of these issues and the need to balance conflicting interests. I do urge any of you, especially those with particular areas of specialisation or unique insights, to make a submission. Meanwhile, here in the ACT we already have new initiatives ready to launch as a result of the work we’ve done to date. In August, consistent with the Commission’s recommendation, the ACT’s new enforceable conciliation will commence. On its own, this is already a positive outcome, and if it can be supported by new legislation such as the Productivity Commission’s recommendations for a “super complaint” mechanism, and for the ACCC to develop and publish estimates for how long certain products can reasonably be expected to last – in other words, pushing back on planned obsolescence - it should become a powerful tool for consumers and consumer advocacy groups. One of the most significant areas that needs the appropriate balance is the current clash between intellectual property rights and the right of consumers and independent repairers to access repair information. On the one hand, manufacturers consider some of this information to be proprietary in nature, and making it more accessible could impact on the willingness of companies to invest in innovation, particularly in areas such as video and on-line gaming. In some areas, however, there can also be safety and other concerns resulting from the use of information by unskilled repairers. On the other hand, there surely needs to be some kind of positive obligation on manufacturers to make repair supplies and information available to third parties. The Commission is specifically calling for input on this concept of “positive obligation”. There also needs to be an overhaul of the language used in warranty agreements, to prevent a warranty being voided – or in some cases to prevent the consumer from wrongly believing that the warranty will be voided - if they use an alternative repairer. With regard to e-waste, various Australian governments have addressed concerns through product stewardship schemes such as the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme – the NTCRS. As the situation stands, however, there is little incentive for these schemes to do anything other than recycle collected e-waste. This is resulting in otherwise functional products being dismantled and destroyed for their component materials, rather than being put to higher value uses through repair and resale. The Commission is seeking evidence on whether product labelling standards would provide net benefits to the community, and how the government and industry might jointly approach such a scheme. The Commission has also recommended that the Australian Government should amend the NTCRS to include repair and reuse as an option. I think the Productivity Commission has done good work and I genuinely thank them for the ongoing effort on this really important and potentially transformative issue. I will make one additional comment about their draft, and their current recommendations. That is the fact that their analysis and recommendations seem quite focused on the end product, and potential solutions for consumers at the end of the line. That is, what can a consumer do when they inevitably have a product that lacks the longevity or transparency that they deserve. That’s fine, but how can we change this paradigm of consumers receiving such products in the first place? How can we stop manufacturers making products that leave the onus on the consumers to seek end-of-the-line solutions? I would like to see more work and more focus on the beginning of the production line, not the end. What obligations should we be placing on the producers of the things we use, to meet certain standards before they can be sold, imported, manufactured in Australia? Standards around transparency and repairability - qualities that should just be a default for consumers? Of course it’s a thorny area in this ‘free market’ world, but I think that manufacturers need further scrutiny, possibly more regulation, even if it is just for certain key products where repairability and transparency standards have truly dropped away. Campaigns around the world have identified some of these – things like farm equipment, smartphones, and major electrical and white goods.  But now I want to circle back briefly to where I started. The socks. It’s easy in this kind of area to get lost in the niceties of corporate responsibility and consumer legislation. And in fact that’s important. That’s our job. But as we work on those things today and in the future, let’s try to remember, when we can, this broader idea that human ingenuity is an essential part of our nature… … and that all human beings have a right to express and use it. I think it will help us navigate this space more thoughtfully, and come up with solutions that work. I wish you every success  at this summit in finding solutions and advancing this important cause.

I gave a version of this speech to the Inaugural Australian Repair Summit last week and I’d like to share the important issue of the Right To Repair to the online audience now. This is a really important issue, and one that I’m very passionate about, both as a Minister for Consumer Affairs, but also as a Green and an environmentalist. The summit had the very specific intent of engaging with Government, policy makers and industry to cover detailed and thorny questions arising from the emergence of the Right to Repair movement in Australia – itself a response to ongoing and large-scale trends. But I think it’s appropriate to start from a much wider angle in order to better prepare us for zeroing in on the nitty gritty – and perhaps even to suggest a guiding philosophical viewpoint. I’m actually talking about our essence as human beings. One of the universal attributes of the human species is our creativity, our inventiveness, our ingenuity. Throughout human history and pre-history, those have been intricate, connected things, both within individuals and across cultures and societies. You only have to look at ancient crafts like knitting. The earliest surviving pieces of knitting are several socks found in Egypt and dating to between 1000 and 1300 AD. When I look at these amazing thousand-year-old socks I’m struck not just by how inventive they are in a technical sense… Like, who first had the idea to use a pair of needles to create these endless interlocking loops? We have no idea. Was it someone just fiddling around with a piece of string and some sticks? … and not even just by how practical and carefully thought out they are, with proper heel and toe shaping, and tapering calves, and fine cotton yarn. … I’m struck by how creative and how beautiful they are, in a way that’s entirely superfluous to their practical function. Yet this superfluous beauty is a common factor across a vast proportion of these kinds of artefacts. It suggests not just that knitting these socks was probably important to their creator, but that creativity and what you might call emotional ownership is an integral part of human ingenuity. We tend to take these kinds of intricate patterns for granted now, assuming a team of sock designers, and complex industrial-scale machinery. But back then, it would have been an act of personal artistry, combined with the practical inventiveness of knowing how to thread those different coloured strands on the inside of the sock so that they didn’t spoil the pattern. There’s a whole huge explosion of creativity and invention behind these socks. Again, we don’t know how long – years or decades or centuries - it took to get from those first awkward loops on two sticks that we can imagine, to flat, clumsy garments, to shaping and patterns like this, but it illustrates another element to the connected nature of human ingenuity – the way ideas spark from one person to the next to the next, like batons passed in a relay, improved upon or reimagined with each pair of hands and eyes, from the first wooden wheels or simple canoes, to an aircraft’s retractable landing gear or a 400-metre-long container ship. But there’s a paradox at work in our modern civilisation, thanks to thousands of years of this relay of ingenuity. Most of the stuff all of us use now, we couldn’t make from scratch in a pink fit. In that sense, our own inventiveness as a species has robbed us of ownership of our inventiveness as individuals. Yet surely such a fundamental human attribute as our creativity and our ingenuity, and our ownership of those things, has to also be considered a fundamental human right – as important for us to access as the right to air and water and shelter and food. The right to tinker with our stuff, to get it fixed or changed or improved, to manage it how we want, make it last as long as we can. The right to get it repaired. Which gets us to the point we’ve arrived at now. It’s not only the complexity of current technology that robs individuals of the kind of connection to our things and the ownership of ingenuity that I’ve been talking about, it’s corporate behaviour and existing gaps or imbalances in our laws. I’m sure I don’t need to spend a lot of time detailing what is happening, or why it’s a problem from multiple perspectives – proprietary service manuals that make it impossible for independent repair businesses to do their work, companies that simply don’t make available the replacement parts for their products, warranties that are voided if a consumer or independent repairer so much as unscrews a backplate. As the ACT’s Minister for Consumer Affairs from November 2012 until late last year, I’ve been working on this issue for a number of years, and as a political party the Greens both federally and in the ACT have been aware of it for some time as well. Just now, I focused on the fundamental and rather abstract right of human beings to express – and own - their inventiveness, but specific consumer rights around products they’ve purchased are also crucial. As a matter of principle, consumers should be able to use an independent repairer or access the resources needed to repair a product themselves. Further - and very much a central concern of environmental and green groups worldwide - with our species now consuming far more of the world’s resources than the planet can handle, preserving resources and reducing waste have become existential needs. E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in Australia – growing three times as fast as other municipal waste. The average Australian household generates 73 kilograms of it annually, while globally the total figure is more than 50 million tonnes a year. We’re not disposing of it properly, and we’re squandering resources – lithium, tellurium, copper - that will eventually run out. The deliberate shortening of a product’s lifespan – planned obsolescence - by refusing to supply component parts or discontinuing software updates needs to be countered. Companies and manufacturers might like it; ordinary people hate it. They want to purchase a washing-machine or a laptop knowing it will last many years and that it can be repaired. The growth of grassroots efforts such as repair cafes speak to our hunger to move away from the throwaway culture that commercial interests have pushed us towards. The Bower, a registered charity committed to reuse and repair, now has four locations in Sydney and a whole range of activities from donation and collection services to repair cafes to and e-tool library and a Tiny House Building course focused on using recycled and reclaimed materials, extending the lifespan of all sorts of things in inspiring ways. We’ve seen some egregious conduct at the corporate level. As of February this year, American company John Deere was still failing to honour its agreement to voluntarily make its repair tools, software guides and diagnostic equipment available to ordinary farmers. The push for the Right to Repair is no longer simply happening at the grassroots level. Government recognition of the problem is building. Last month the Australian Government Productivity Commission released its draft report assessing the need for Right to Repair laws in Australia, with “a focus on whether consumers face any unnecessary barriers to repair that require a government policy response.” The short answer, of course, is that most of us here today think they do face those barriers, and a government policy response is required. The perspective of manufacturers does need to be considered, of course, but we also need to be a bit cynical when there’s a push from certain companies to treat this purely as a matter of security and IP protection, when in fact to a large degree their motivation is rent-seeking. We also have justification for being cynical about corporations that promise to police themselves. I’m not going to name any particular companies, but there have been examples of companies voluntarily undertaking to make software and repair manuals available and then arguing that this undertaking meant that right-to-repair legislation was unnecessary. Years later the problem continues, and we can see that these companies were simply kicking the can down the road. In the ACT, we’re already well ahead of the Productivity Commission’s report in our own thinking. In fact, I’m quite proud to say that our small jurisdiction is the one that has pushed this issue along, including precipitating the Commission’s report. On the ACT’s initiative, the Consumer Affairs Forum in 2019 pushed for an examination of potential policy options to address the issue, and a formal referral to the Productivity Commission was the Forum’s recommended outcome. As noted, this is only a draft report from the Productivity Commission, and I’m sure you’re aware that there is opportunity to make submissions towards the report’s final version. For anyone who doesn’t know, the deadline for this is the 23rd of July – so only two weeks away. The report rightly notes the complexity of these issues and the need to balance conflicting interests. I do urge any of you, especially those with particular areas of specialisation or unique insights, to make a submission. Meanwhile, here in the ACT we already have new initiatives ready to launch as a result of the work we’ve done to date. In August, consistent with the Commission’s recommendation, the ACT’s new enforceable conciliation will commence. On its own, this is already a positive outcome, and if it can be supported by new legislation such as the Productivity Commission’s recommendations for a “super complaint” mechanism, and for the ACCC to develop and publish estimates for how long certain products can reasonably be expected to last – in other words, pushing back on planned obsolescence - it should become a powerful tool for consumers and consumer advocacy groups. One of the most significant areas that needs the appropriate balance is the current clash between intellectual property rights and the right of consumers and independent repairers to access repair information. On the one hand, manufacturers consider some of this information to be proprietary in nature, and making it more accessible could impact on the willingness of companies to invest in innovation, particularly in areas such as video and on-line gaming. In some areas, however, there can also be safety and other concerns resulting from the use of information by unskilled repairers. On the other hand, there surely needs to be some kind of positive obligation on manufacturers to make repair supplies and information available to third parties. The Commission is specifically calling for input on this concept of “positive obligation”. There also needs to be an overhaul of the language used in warranty agreements, to prevent a warranty being voided – or in some cases to prevent the consumer from wrongly believing that the warranty will be voided - if they use an alternative repairer. With regard to e-waste, various Australian governments have addressed concerns through product stewardship schemes such as the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme – the NTCRS. As the situation stands, however, there is little incentive for these schemes to do anything other than recycle collected e-waste. This is resulting in otherwise functional products being dismantled and destroyed for their component materials, rather than being put to higher value uses through repair and resale. The Commission is seeking evidence on whether product labelling standards would provide net benefits to the community, and how the government and industry might jointly approach such a scheme. The Commission has also recommended that the Australian Government should amend the NTCRS to include repair and reuse as an option. I think the Productivity Commission has done good work and I genuinely thank them for the ongoing effort on this really important and potentially transformative issue. I will make one additional comment about their draft, and their current recommendations. That is the fact that their analysis and recommendations seem quite focused on the end product, and potential solutions for consumers at the end of the line. That is, what can a consumer do when they inevitably have a product that lacks the longevity or transparency that they deserve. That’s fine, but how can we change this paradigm of consumers receiving such products in the first place? How can we stop manufacturers making products that leave the onus on the consumers to seek end-of-the-line solutions? I would like to see more work and more focus on the beginning of the production line, not the end. What obligations should we be placing on the producers of the things we use, to meet certain standards before they can be sold, imported, manufactured in Australia? Standards around transparency and repairability - qualities that should just be a default for consumers? Of course it’s a thorny area in this ‘free market’ world, but I think that manufacturers need further scrutiny, possibly more regulation, even if it is just for certain key products where repairability and transparency standards have truly dropped away. Campaigns around the world have identified some of these – things like farm equipment, smartphones, and major electrical and white goods.  But now I want to circle back briefly to where I started. The socks. It’s easy in this kind of area to get lost in the niceties of corporate responsibility and consumer legislation. And in fact that’s important. That’s our job. But as we work on those things today and in the future, let’s try to remember, when we can, this broader idea that human ingenuity is an essential part of our nature… … and that all human beings have a right to express and use it. I think it will help us navigate this space more thoughtfully, and come up with solutions that work. I wish you every success  at this summit in finding solutions and advancing this important cause.

The right to repair. Ft: Shane Rattenbury MLA

ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury MLA, and ACT Minister for Youth Justice Emma Davidson MLA make the case for raising the age of criminal responsibility.

ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury MLA, and ACT Minister for Youth Justice Emma Davidson MLA make the case for raising the age of criminal responsibility.

Raising the age of criminal responsibility. Ft: Shane Rattenbury MLA and Emma Davidson MLA

ACT Greens Podcast

The best podcast episodes of anyone with an interesting story. With famous guests like Obama, LeBron James, Drake, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, Michelle Obama, Serena Williams, to anyone who has a unique and interesting story to tell. Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!

Best Episodes: Personal Stories & Great Interviews

The best podcast episodes of the most interesting stories and things. From skyping someone while they're in space, to tracking down and meeting a telephone scammer in person, to the story of a Galapagos. These episodes will keep you and all your friends entertained and captivated for hours. Learn something new in every episode! Add episodes you're interested into your queue below!