Ed Husic (Chifley, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Having grown up in Western Sydney, we have learned the hard way that it often takes ages to get the things we need, but super lightning-fast speed to get the things we do not want. It is certainly the case in the matter that I want to raise today and that has also concerned my friend and colleague the member for Lindsay and the member for McMahon. It is the proposal to establish a new energy-from-waste incinerator planned to be built at Eastern Creek. The reason why three federal members have decided to put in a submission opposing this incinerator is that it is such a massive proposal that it will impact a wide area of Western Sydney. It warrants us speaking up very forcefully, very loudly, on this matter and to represent the concerns of the community. Many have already started speaking out about the construction of this incinerator, whose EIS has not forecast emissions that are considered valid or attainable, and it plans to consume over one million tonnes of waste per year. It is a largest of its kind in the country and it is right in Western Sydney. We never asked for it. It is being considered to be built at lightning-fast speed. Construction impacts are hard to assess when compared against this. It is a massive issue and we are certainly not satisfied.

In the joint submission that we put in, we said we are not satisfied that the potential health impacts of this plant have been adequately identified and addressed. We certainly support Blacktown City Council, led by Mayor Stephen Bali, and their call for New South Wales Health to undertake a review of this plant to ensure there will be no impact on the health of residents. This thing will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with approximately 168 trucks used every day to deliver the waste there. It will place pressure on already resource-starved infrastructure in Western Sydney.

Constituents have been writing to me and are very concerned about this. They are saying that they want us to speak up on their behalf and to highlight, just like I have here in an email from Maynard Borbe, who said:

I am sure that majority Western Sydney residents feel the same way that we are sick of being the dumping ground for the junk and rubbish that other parts of Sydney don't want in their areas. We deserve better and we must demand better. Please be our voice.

That is why I am here today with the member for Lindsay: to say that we are very concerned about what is being proposed. We never asked for this facility to be built, we want other things to be done first and we want to make sure that the community's voice is being heard and, importantly, responded to and acted upon.