Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I rise to speak on a very important issue in my electorate that continues to be a serious concern to local residents. This issue relates to the Tullamarine landfill—a hazardous waste landfill referred to by local residents as the Tullamarine toxic dump. I have been following the toxic dump issue for a number of years. In fact, my community within the surrounds of the suburb of Tullamarine has rallied for the closure of this insidious site for over a decade. In the nine years that I have been the member I have come to know personally many of the people involved in the Terminate Tullamarine Toxic Dump Action Group. These are people who are tirelessly advocating on behalf of our local residents. This campaign has been a difficult and emotional journey for the people of Tullamarine and their friends and supporters. This is because too many promises and commitments were made regarding final closure and decommissioning of this landfill, so much so that its continued presence in our neighbourhoods has left all who have fought so hard bewildered and rightfully angry.

I acknowledge the efforts of locals such as Alan Free; Kaylene Wilson, who is President of the Terminate Tullamarine Toxic Dump Action Group; Harry van Moorst, Director of the Western Region Environment Centre; Helen van den Berg, Secretary of the Terminate Tullamarine Toxic Dump Action Group; Russ and Maureen Nilsson; Graeme Hodgson; Peter and Pam Munro; Helen and John Patsikatheodorou; and, of course, all others who have worked selflessly and tirelessly to lobby the state government and the EPA to finally rid the community of this open sore.

The community has been deeply concerned about the years of inaction in bringing about the closure of the toxic dump and the very nature of the activity on that site, which is of a poisonous and toxic nature and which may be linked to serious health issues, as indicated in a recent community survey. My constituents have suffered for no other reason than having had their neighbourhood become an area which ABC News recently, quoting environmentalists, described as probably the most hazardous waste landfill site in Australia.

A preliminary health study launched on 12 May, commissioned by the Terminate Tullamarine Toxic Dump Action Group on behalf of residents near the Tullamarine hazardous waste landfill, identified five cancer-ridden clusters within just four kilometres of the Tullamarine landfill. Following the launch of the health study, ABC News reported that the study found that people living within 200 metres of the landfill had a quadrupled cancer rate compared with that of people living in surrounding suburbs and indeed greater Melbourne. These results are not abstract projections; they simply reflect the stories of local residents. Russ and Maureen Nilsson, along with their eldest son, Glen, are one such story. Glen has unfortunately been forced to give up his job as a paramedic because he is currently fighting for his life as a result of contracting multiple myeloma. Mrs Nilsson herself, having been diagnosed and treated for follicular lymphoma, now has to deal with tumours in her stomach.

Local residents are all too aware of these stories and the many more which have long gone unnoticed. It is time their voices and concerns were reflected in the decisions which ultimately impact on their lives. To date, there have been no calls for monetary compensation. Instead, the focus has been on protecting the health and lives of local residents, as well as the future of the area. That is why I want to go on the record here in the House not only as supporting the reasonable demands of the local residents but also to outline them.

These demands are as follows. The first is that the Environment Protection Authority provides the peer reviews that purport to vindicate the EPA’s decision to use what is clearly an out-of-date design for the capping of the landfill site. It is crucial that a better-quality cap, more reflective of the advances made in design from that developed a quarter of a century ago, is used. This negligence has created a leaking landfill, which has already pumped hazardous, contaminated, oily liquids into local creeks, and all of these are difficult to extract. The second demand is that the toxic oils be removed to the maximum extent achievable. The third is that a definitive independent health study be undertaken, one which looks closely at the cancer rates within the vulnerability zone around the landfill site. The final demand is that air-quality monitoring be extensively undertaken. It is high time that those who have long profited from the toxic dump assume their responsibilities to the community, which is now facing potentially serious health concerns.