Dr WOODRUFF - I will ask the climate question first. There was an allocation of $2 million, a grant to Norske Skog matched by a $2 million federal grant announced last May. It was to bring forward work to examine the opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 160 000 tonnes of CO2 a year. You referred to that when you introduced the state climate action bill last August. It is concerning to hear that the Norske Skog sustainability report 2022, an international report, says -
In 2022 the Norske Skog Boyer Mill accounted for 67 per cent of the fossil fuel emissions of the Norske Skog Group. The CO2 emissions from the Norwegian mill's Norske Skog Saugbrugs and Norske Skog Skogn are very low due to a long-term commitment and completed investments to reduce fossil-based energy sources in the production of thermal energy.
We strongly support the work of Norske Skog, that's not at question here, it’s about the support and structural framework for companies in Tasmania to be internationally competitive in terms of low emissions. They’re clearly not internationally competitive within their own industry group. Can you outline what progress Norske Skog has made in that government funding to replace the use of fossil fuels and reduce its 160 000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year?
Mr JAENSCH - The Government's co-investment with Norske and with other major industrials, large emitters, is an indicator of our approach to working on emissions and climate change. Working with a company like that to invest in finding alternatives and making a case to their parent company, their global parent, that this is a location where they should be investing long-term in the next generation of technology and production here and keeping jobs and investment in Tasmania is the way we're approaching this business and many others like it which have an emissions profile in Tasmania.
We're willing to put money on the table to do that and we are in other sectors as well. We've seen our investment as a Government in organic waste processing and diversion from landfill, working with Dulverton Waste Management, also with Barwicks in the south. We'll keep doing that. Things like our landfill levy revenue streams will be redirected into some of those sorts of investments as they have been in the past, some of which have a very strong emissions focus to them.
In terms of the specific project that you referred to, the Government's involvement with that is managed through the Department of State Growth. I don't have current detail on that to share with you. I direct you to minister Barnett for that.
Dr WOODRUFF - That's pretty poor from the Climate Change minister.
Mr JAENSCH - I'm critically interested in it but I'm not the minister with the responsibility for that so I refer you to the other minister.
Dr WOODRUFF - Can we return to my question on TOMRA please and the Container Refund Scheme (CRS)?
Mr JAENSCH - If we want to move into the Environment portfolio in which case I will hand over to Anton?
Dr WOODRUFF - Yes, thank you.