Andrews government secretly assessed training site for storage of contaminated West Gate Tunnel soil

While Jim Birch was spending thousands of dollars on a new training centre, the Andrews government was secretly assessing the site to store toxic West Gate Tunnel soil.

A secret government plan to dump tunnel spoil in a disused quarry has derailed a training centre for disadvantaged workers in construction.

The Mitchell Lasry Quarry, located between Tullamarine Airport and the Woodlands nature preserve, had been earmarked for a Centre of Excellence in Earthmoving.

The training facility had been developed since 2015 by Australia Wide Earthmovers chief executive Jim Birch, and was backed by government MPs and ministers and employment pathway programs at Collingwood Football Club and the Brotherhood of St Laurence.

But while Mr Birch was spending tens of thousands of dollars on fencing, roads and planning applications, the Andrews Government was secretly assessing the same quarry to store contaminated soil from its disastrous West Gate Tunnel project.

Documents tabled in state parliament show that assessment, in 2019, determined the quarry unsuitable for material that could contain industrial chemicals such as PFAS and PFOS.

Jim Birch runs an earthmoving company that was set to create a new training centre for disadvantaged workers. Picture: Josie Hayden

But the quarry was to be kept in reserve to take spoil from other major projects being built across Melbourne, with millions of tonnes set to be unearthed this decade.

“It is proposed to backfill the existing quarry with tunnel spoil won from tunnelling projects being carried out across Melbourne,” one report tabled says.

The government has since decided against keeping the site aside for such a purpose, a spokewoman said.

The state’s environment department gave Mr Birch a green light to apply for a lease at the quarry in 2018, and he was only told late last year that plans had changed.

“We have been locked out, after we did all of the flora and fauna research, groundwater studies and all the engineering to get clean fill in that site in an appropriate manner,” he said.

“I just want to go to work, I wanted to support the government under the Big Build, and get training going that’s needed.”

Mr Birch said he felt he had been misled during the process.

“On the left hand DELWP is saying ‘keep going, you are doing a great job’, on the other hand they are doing this with (other deal) with the West Gate Tunnel project.”

Contaminated soil from its disastrous West Gate Tunnel project. Picture: Ian Currie

Letters to Mr Birch backing his push to train disadvantaged Victorians include from Aboriginal Affairs Minister Gabrielle Williams in 2021, while Broadmeadows MP Frank McGuire told state parliament in 2018 that 300 jobs would be created.

Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, David Davis, said the government had resisted releasing documents about the toxic soil saga that showed it was treating western suburbs as a “dumping ground for dirty, toxic spoil”.

The West Gate Tunnel was massively delayed after contaminated soil stalled tunnelling in 2019 and led to a protracted legal battle over cost overruns.

It is now set to be delivered three years late and $3.9bn over budget.

A government spokeswoman said the quarry was one of “numerous locations” canvassed as potential destinations for spoil.

“Using the quarry for infill would accelerate its rehabilitation to be utilised as public open space,” she said.

Mr Birch said the Centre of Excellence in Earthmoving was designed to infill the quarry and hand it back for public use once a lease expired.

He said the government had appeared to prefer to want to keep the land for use by multi-billion dollar construction consortia rather than mum and dad operators.