PM’s bid to win battleground Sydney seats with ‘practical’ environmental measures

With climate change a major focus from Labor, practical policies like recycling will be the PM’s answer to the environment in the lead up to the federal election, due by May 2022.

Driving down waste through recycling and reusing materials like tyres to make roads will feature in a new “remade in Australia” campaign as part of a “practical” environmental pitch to battleground electorates.

After hitting the track at the Bathurst 1000 on Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will continue the unofficial campaigning in NSW, announcing the recycling initiative in the Liberal-held marginal electorate of Wentworth in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Monday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison sitting in the Gen 3 Ford Mustang Supercar while visiting Mount Panorama at the Bathurst 1000. Picture: Tim Hunter.

With climate change expected to be a major focus from Labor, government sources said practical policies like recycling would be Mr Morrison’s answer to the environment in the lead up to the federal election, due by May 2022.

A senior government source said while big climate targets made some people “feel good about themselves,” it would be “practical, tangible initiatives” like cutting waste were “resonating most” with voters.

Mr Morrison will announce the national Remade in Australia campaign at Sydney’s Woollahra Public School, urging people to recycle more to help create jobs and protect the environment.

“Australians are doing the right thing and they want to be assured that the efforts they make in recycling at their homes and workplaces are delivering real outcomes, from the roads they drive on to the sunglasses they choose to wear,” Mr Morrison said.

“We need to recycle even more and this campaign will help consumers and business understand the benefits that recycling can deliver for our environment and for jobs.”

Environment Minister Sussan Ley will visit a tyre recycling facility in Western Sydney on Monday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Environment Minister Sussan Ley will also visit Western Sydney on Monday for the official opening of a $10 million tyre recycling plant at Erskine Park, backed by the government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund.

“The Remade in Australia campaign asks Australians to look for those products using recycled materials, it raises awareness about the ways recycled materials contribute to our everyday lives,” Ms Ley said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison visiting Mount Panorama on Sunday at the Bathurst 1000. Picture: Tim Hunter.

During his visit to Bathurst, Mr Morrison sat in the passenger seat as six-time race winner Mark Skaife took him on a “hot lap” of the famous racetrack, hitting speeds of 230km/hr.

But Mr Morrison’s pitch to voters via a dashcam inside Skaife’s car sparked significant backlash, with motorsport fans on social media accusing the prime minister of turning the famous race into a political stunt, while some in the crowds at Bathurst reportedly booed him.

The prime minister then travelled to the regional NSW town of Forbes, where major flooding has ruined harvest and damaged property.

“The first time I came to the central west (of NSW) as prime minister it was drought, second time I came it was fires, and now this third time I come and it’s floods,” Mr Morrison said on Sunday.

“The resilience of the people that Central West is something extraordinary.”

Supplied Editorial Fwd: PM Forbes visit

Premier Dominic Perrottet also travelled with Mr Morrison, who said the trip had helped the leaders “understand” and “make some good decisions about supports” Forbes and other flood-affected parts of Australia would need to recover.

Meanwhile, it is expected Mr Morrison will take his “practical initiatives” for the environment message on the road to battleground electorates including Reid in Sydney and Corangamite in Melbourne this week.

Highlighting the importance of Reid, which is currently held by Liberal MP Fiona Martin on a margin of 3.2 per cent, Labor leader Anthony Albanese made the area the site of his first pre-campaign rally on Sunday.

In a climate contest with Labor, the Coalition will argue its modelled 30 to 35 per cent emissions reductions by 2030 aspiration is a better option for heavy manufacturing regions like the Hunter Valley in NSW, as well as Central Queensland and Northern Tasmania – all home to must-win federal seats.

But the government is also looking to defend inner city seats against high-profile independent candidates agitating for stronger climate action.

Liberal MP Dave Sharma will face a tough election battle to retain his eastern suburbs seat of Wentworth. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Joel Carrett

Wentworth MP Dave Sharma said practical environmental actions were important to his community, who were looking for “sustainable ways to reduce their waste”.

“Keeping waste out of our oceans and landscapes and turning it into resources that can be reused is something we can all be a part of, and this campaign will help spread that message,” he said.

Mr Sharma is facing a challenge from local business leader and renewable energy advocate Allegra Spender, who has announced she will run as an independent in Wentworth.

Ms Allegra, who is the daughter of the late designer Carla Zampatti and John Spender, QC, who was a former Liberal MP who served under Andrew Peacock and John Howard.

She has described her policy focus as “acting on climate” as well as improving the economy, education and healthcare, and “putting an end to corruption in politics”.

Originally published as PM’s bid to win battleground Sydney seats with ‘practical’ environmental measures