The NT government has been granted an exemption from federal laws that forced it to put its container deposit scheme (CDS) on hold earlier this year, and the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) is not impressed.
The AFGC, advocates increased recycling facilities in the territory in place of a CDS, was quick to condemn the reintroduction of the CDS, with its chief executive Gary Dawson labelled it as a tax on bottles and containers.
“Ultimately all consumers and taxpayers will foot the bill for the NT
government’s failed scheme, at a time when they are faced with ever
increasing cost of living pressures,” Dawson said.
“The
reinstatement of the Cash for Containers Scheme is effectively a tax on
glass and plastic drink containers, which will push up an average
family’s grocery bills by around $300 a year."
Beverage companies such as Coca-Cola, Schweppes and Lion, mounted a legal challenge against the NT's CDS on the grounds that it breached federal rules barring different production processes for the same product in different states and territories, a claim was upheld by the Federal Court in March.
While South Australia has long operated its own CDS, the state had been granted exemption from national rules back in 1992.
In the wake of the Federal Court's striking down of its scheme, the Northern Territory government said it would apply for a similar exemption from the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Federal Executive Council (ExCo).
The ExCo ratified the NT's exemption in its final meeting before next month's federal election, prompting the territory's government to say it would quickly move to reintroduce the scheme.
The government had been spending an estimated one million dollars a month since March's rejection to keep the CDS going. The exemption from COAG now means that beverage companies must again repay deposits of 10 cents per bottle or can recycled through the territory's system.
Dawson said the NT government’s decision to continue this policy would not correct the numerous flaws in the legislation, which he said had resulted in "ongoing commercial disputes, proven shaky legal underpinnings and only increased costs for consumers with questionable environmental benefits."
“The NT government found the cost of around $1million per month to run the scheme unaffordable and it is now effectively shifting this cost on to consumers,” said Dawson.
