The Queensland government has launched a parliamentary inquiry into scrap metal theft.(ABC News: Rani Hayman)
Scrap-metal dealers would be banned from making cash purchases under a proposal from a South East Queensland council aimed at reducing copper theft.
The recommendation from the City of Moreton Bay has been made to a parliamentary inquiry set up by the Queensland government to probe scrap-metal theft in the Sunshine State.
However, the Waste Recycling Industry Association of Queensland (WRIQ) has suggested that any move to introduce a “no cash for scrap” scheme will not work – labelling it a “bandaid solution”.
The parliamentary inquiry has been tasked by the government to recommend potential law changes, and to investigate the prevalence of scrap-metal theft and its cost to Queenslanders.
Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery said there had been a “huge spike” in copper theft in the last six to 12 months in his community, with copper being stripped from the lighting at sports clubs.
He said copper cabling was also now being stripped from street lighting.
“It’s having a huge impact there on not only the safety for the vehicles who use the street lighting for guidance, but also pedestrians who use that street lighting for safety,” he said.
“Sometimes we replace it up to three times at different locations, so, it’s in the hundreds of thousands now that it’s costing us to replace it.”
Mr Flannery’s council wants law changes so that scrap-metal dealers would be prohibited from using cash when purchasing scrap metal, to help identify the seller in the future if need be.
“We want it to be electronic transfer of funds when they do buy copper,” he said.
“Also, we want them to record the details of the person they’re buying the copper from, so there’s a record of it.
“That’s just reflecting what other legislations are in place in other states.”
Other recommendations from the council include prohibiting scrap metal being sold to businesses that are not “registered scrap metal dealers”, and mandating that dealers report “suspicious transactions” to police.
In its submission to the inquiry, Energy Queensland also called for the creation of an offence that would ban dealers from using cash or crypto currency to pay for scrap metal.
State has ‘excellent existing laws’ But the WRIQ, which represents Queensland businesses involved in waste disposal and recycling, is opposed to a ban on cash transactions for scrap-metal dealers.
WRIQ chief executive Alison Price suggested such a move had not worked in other states.
“Unfortunately, ‘no cash for scrap’ schemes are a bandaid solution that don’t address the real issue of unlicensed illegal operators and black-market trading,” she said.
“If we introduce a ‘no cash for scrap’ scheme in Queensland without first dedicating the necessary resources to tackle unlicensed scrap-metal operators doing the wrong thing, it will not stop metal theft.
“It will be an extra set of regulations for Queensland’s legitimate, licensed scrap-metal recyclers and a poor outcome for recycling in Queensland.”
Ms Price said Queensland already has “excellent existing laws” that would prevent metal theft if they were enforced.
“The solution is adequate resourcing for police and environmental compliance,” she said.
A Department of Justice and Attorney-General submission to the inquiry says 1,507 reports of metal theft were made to police in 2022-23 – which was down from 1,665 in 2018-19, but up from 1,157 in 2021-22.
According to the submission, second-hand dealers in Queensland are required to record second-hand transactions in a “transactions register”.
Requirements include recording the time and date of the transaction, a description of the property, the name and address of the person selling the property, and how that person’s name and address was verified.
The inquiry, which was announced by Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath in August, is due to report back to the parliament by November..
