John Madigan (Victoria, Democratic Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, Senator Conroy. Minister, my question concerns the failure of the Morwell River Diversion in the Yallourn open-cut mine on 6 June this year. In the light of the fact that Victoria's EPA has authorised TRUenergy to pump likely polluted water from the Yallourn open-cut mine directly into the La Trobe River flowing into the Ramsar listed Gippsland Lakes and that the Victorian EPA is not testing the water, instead relying on test results supplied by TRUenergy, can the minister advise what steps are being taken to end this convenient arrangement between the Victorian EPA and TRUenergy, to impose independent water testing at the Yallourn mine and to ensure that those test results are publicly available; and that he has taken action to stop TRUenergy pumping directly from the mine into the La Trobe River, were pollution to be detected?