Shadow Minister for Primary Industries & Water, Shadow Minister for Police & Emergency Services, Shadow Minister for Parks & Wildlife, Shadow Minister for Local Government

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24
Mar

ELLENDALE COMMUNITY WASTE FACILITY - CLOSURE

2009

Mr HIDDING (Lyons) - Mr Deputy Speaker, I want to raise a matter of a small town within my electorate of Lyons and that is the township of Ellendale. Ellendale has had the shocking news that their community tip, waste facility -

Mr Morris - Waste transfer.

Mr HIDDING - Yes, their waste facility is to be closed.

Mr Morris - Not only that one.

Mr HIDDING - Indeed. Mayor Deirdre Flint and the Central Highlands Council - she is a very good mayor and is very committed to council - have a serious problem in that area with waste transfer stations that essentially do not meet the requirements of Workplace Standards in a number of ways. I understand that Workplace Standards has been very helpful in working through the issues with the council. Recently, a couple of days before a long weekend, they were forced to close a waste transfer station at Bronte, which is one of the busiest transfer stations. The downside is that with the waste transfer station closed people simply leave their rubbish in the bush or take it to the bush because there is nowhere else to dump it. On that long weekend, due to some telephone calls and bits and pieces that I was involved in, there was an agreement that they would send a truck around to waste transfer stations accepting that people would be placing their rubbish at the closed gates.

Back to the township of Ellendale: Workplace Standards has also condemned the waste transfer station at Ellendale. I received a copy of a letter written by Mr Bob Engwicht, an Ellendale representative selected at a public meeting at Ellendale hall. This person provided some terrific input into this debate and sent a letter to the mayor which pointed out that they closed the Ellendale facility because it was 17 kilometres from the Hamilton tip and therefore people would be able to use that one. The residents of Ellendale, Mr Engwicht tells us, consistently asked the council for the facts and figures being used to rationalise the decision and they had been ignored and not treated well. He pointed out that the council had not carried out a costing for each individual tip site, they had not done a costing of the alternative arrangements for rubbish collection nor had they requested written instructions from Workplace Standards as to exactly what was required to bring the tip up to standard. It concerned them that when they asked what was required, the list of requirements kept growing and now includes a grey water septic system. That seems to contradict verbal advice they were given by Workplace Standards.

The Ellendale tip services one-quarter of the population of the central highlands and the Hamilton tip, if Ellendale were to close, will service more than half the residents, with four other tips kept open for less than half of the central highlands residents. That appears to be a valid concern on behalf of the people of Ellendale. It is more than 20 kilometres from the Ellendale post office and you have to add another 10 kilometres for Westerway residents. To pour petrol on the fire, it is not just about the loss of their tip but it is also about the cost that will be added to their rates. They have raised the issue that they believe that the alternative being proposed will cost more to deliver and operate than a proposal to upgrade the tip.

We call on the Central Highlands Council to review their decision. We think the people of Ellendale have made a very good case in asking for a fully-rationalised decision to request them to drive 20 kilometres, and 30 kilometres for Westerway people, to dispose of their waste at Hamilton. They have requested a meeting at the Ellendale hall with the mayor and whichever representatives she can muster to come and we think that would be a good thing for the mayor to do.

From the point of view of the shadow minister for local government in this State, I would have to make the point that if a council cannot afford waste facilities, if they cannot afford to operate a tip in a reasonable proximity to residents, then that council has some broader issues. After all, we are not here talking about child care or economic development advice to work in the area, this is one of the basic elements of roads, rates and rubbish. This is what local governments do and they have to raise sufficient rates to provide these facilities. Whatever the outcome is, they need to keep these facilities open. That is not to say that a council should be asked to maintain 10 such facilities, but Central Highlands is one council that does it really tough. There are huge distances between the villages and so one of the undeniable outcomes of the sheer nature of that council is that they need more waste transfer facilities, tips, than other councils. They simply need to rate to keep these facilities open.

Mr Llewellyn - Flintstone Drive is one of the biggest towns in the Central Highlands Council.

Mr HIDDING - It is a substantial town, isn't it? It should be given a name. Could you think of a name?

Mr Morris - Louisville.

Mr Llewellyn - No, they've already got one of them.

Mr HIDDING - To be absolutely serious about this, the minister is in the House and he should back up the residents.