2016-02-22
Question in Parliament - Colleen Hartland: My constituency question is for the Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Water. I wish to raise issues around Cleanaway and its landfill operations in Deer Park. A number of residents have been to see me about health concerns associated with a foul odour that is still unknown, and they are very concerned about what the effects are going to be. Having been out to the site with them last week I can understand just what they mean, because the smell was disgusting. They repeatedly report these incidents to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and feel that they are not being taken seriously. Marion Martin tells me that in the last two weeks she has four times rung the EPA and has not had a response. I ask the minister to speak to the EPA and to deal with this very serious issue at Deer Park in relation to the odours coming from the Cleanaway tip.
Statement in parliament - Colleen Hartland: Last week I attended the Cleanaway tip in Deer Park. This is part of what the company was calling community consultation but what I would actually call outrage mitigation. I was not invited by the company, but the Stop the Tip group did make sure that I was aware of the event. The company claims that this was community consultation, yet the tour was happening during work hours, which made it very difficult for the bulk of the community to actually be able to attend.
When I asked for the maps of what was going to be happening on the site, I was refused, so in my usual style I took photos of them instead. The company has claimed that it has improved the odour at the site. If that is an improvement of the odour, I hate to think what it was like at its worst. Having been attending these kinds of community consultations for over 30 years, I wonder when it will be that companies like Cleanaway, the Environment Protection Authority Victoria and government will actually understand that they should consult people. They do not tell them what is going on.
They should not patronise people but treat them with some respect, and then they may actually be able to work with them.