Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the recent Senate inquiry into the impacts on health of air quality in Australia recommended health impact assessments for new mining developments and the covering of coal trains that spread dust in populated areas,

(ii) the New South Wales' Environment Protection Authority has, under pollution reduction programs administered by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC), which manages the haulage of coal in the Hunter Valley, directed ARTC to assess whether coal trains contribute to increased pollution particulate emissions,

(iii) that documents released under Freedom of Information requests have shown That the reports from ARTC aimed at meeting these requirements were misleading as they failed to recognise uncovered coal wagons as causing the spike in particulate concentrations,

(iv) that during 2012 the network of 17 Hunter Valley air quality monitoring stations recorded levels of PM10 over the national standard on 115 occasions – more than 30 000 Newcastle residents live within 500 metres of the coal corridor, and

(v) a number of peer reviewed reports have highlighted this problem, which was not addressed in the final report; and

(b) calls on the ARTC to:

(i) require all coal wagons during transport operations to be covered when loaded and unloaded,

(ii) ensure that future reports on particulate pollution it is responsible for producing are subject to thorough methodological scrutiny, and

(iii) publicly disclose all data and peer revision arising from any of its reports into particulate pollution resulting from its operations.

Question negatived.

I seek leave to make a 30-second statement.

Stephen Parry (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for 30 seconds.

Lee Rhiannon (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let the Senate note that in the vote just held, Labor voted with the coalition against requiring the Australian Rail Track Corporation to cover rail coal wagons.