As Clear As Toxic Mud
Western Victoria MP Bev McArthur has called on Transport Minister Jacinta Allan to immediately reveal the location of toxic soil dumping from the West Gate Tunnel project.
Minister Allan confirmed on Monday morning that contaminated soil was being taken to “several landfill sites”, but refused to say where.
Leaked test results reveal the amount of PFAS leaching into the soil is 21 times the acceptable limit for any landfills.
There has been little or no community consultation in Bacchus Marsh throughout this whole sorry saga but it is even worse now there is a pandemic excuse.
Bev McArthur said “This government is totally opposed to transparency. They’ve blocked the Opposition’s attempt to establish a cross-party committee to oversee their pandemic response, the Planning Minister is refusing to answer the questions on notice about the Maddingley Brown Coal site that I submitted two months ago, and now they’re dumping toxic soil in residents’ backyard somewhere without even telling them.”
“Labor are clearly not letting this crisis go to waste – under the cover of a lockdown, Transurban and the State Government are dumping toxic soil at any number of landfill sites, anywhere they want, it seems.”
"No wonder Daniel Andrews and his politburo ‘Gang of Eight’ don’t want Parliament sitting or a PAEC sub-committee not controlled by the Government to oversee and examine justification for all their actions and the expenditure of billions of taxpayers' dollars."
“If Ms Allan is so convinced of the soil’s safety and lack of a need for proper community consultation, she can take it to her electorate in Bendigo, instead of Bacchus Marsh.”
“Residents across Western Victoria but particularly in the State electorates of Melton and Buninyong have a right to know if the government is dumping these potentially-dangerous chemicals in their community.”
"Victoria's Upper House wholeheartedly rejected the proposal to dump toxic soil at Maddingley Brown Coal, when all eleven crossbenchers joined the Opposition in voting for a motion condemning the idea on March 18. This is the only occasion when this level of unity has occurred in the Upper House in the 59th Parliament. The Andrews Government ought to listen to the Bacchus Marsh community, and the eleven crossbenchers that they so desperately rely upon to pass their often questionable legislation."
"1500 locals rallied in Bacchus Marsh on March 10 to protest at the dumping of contaminated waste in their community. I was the only MP to attend the gathering and speak in support the community."
“The Andrews Government must immediately stop allowing the movement of toxic soil, tell Victorians in the West where they’ve moved soil already and begin proper community consultation.”
30 April 2020