Speaker Profile

In a 2013 Senator’s Statement, Peter was Australia’s first parliamentarian to raise the dangers of plastic pollution in the ocean in Federal Parliament. In 2015 he initiated the world’s first inquiry into the threat of marine plastic. The inquiry produced a report called “Toxic Tide” and the first recommendation was to ban microbeads. This happened the following year. During his time in the Senate, Peter has initiated multiple inquiries into the impacts of plastics and micro-plastics on marine life, container deposit schemes, marine plastic pollution and the waste and recycling crisis in Australia. In 2020, Peter tabled a Private Member’s Bill to address the shortfalls in the government’s recent waste legislation. This bill included addressing some of the most problematic single-use plastics and forcing producers to take responsibility for their products and packaging. The bill was narrowly defeated, but the fight goes on.