Overview

• The One Nation leader posted a viral video of a ripped Woolworths paper bag and accused supermarkets of “fleecing” shoppers by charging 25 cents per bag.
• Hanson urged Coles and Woolworths to bring back plastic bags, arguing the paper option is flimsy and unfair during a cost-of-living squeeze.
• Woolworths says about 80% of customers now bring their own bags and reports removing more than 9,000 tonnes of plastic from circulation each year.
• All states and territories ban lightweight plastic shopping bags, and major supermarkets phased them out years earlier in favor of paid paper and reusable options.
• Environmental advocates describe paid paper bags as a temporary nudge toward reusables and warn that reinstating lightweight plastics would worsen pollution, noting further produce-bag restrictions in Western Australia this week.