Residents direct anger over move West Gate soil proposal at Treasurer Tim Pallas
An attempt by Treasurer Tim Pallas to calm fears over plans to store contaminated soil from the West Gate Tunnel project in Wyndham has not gone as he might have hoped.
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Treasurer Tim Pallas has been booed and jeered by residents in Melbourne’s west who have railed against contaminated soil being stored in Wyndham.
A group up to 100 people met at the Park Hotel in Werribee on Wednesday night to oppose a plan being considered by the state government to temporarily dump toxic soil from the West Gate Tunnel next to a rail yard in Melbourne’s west.
But Mr Pallas, who is also the member for Werribee, received a frosty welcome in front of the Wyndham Community Activists Group and was booed before he began speaking.
He said residents in Melbourne’s west would benefit most from the West Gate Tunnel and moved to calm fears about the area becoming a long-term storage site.
“There is no suggestion whatsoever that there will be a toxic waste dump or long term containment facility in Wyndham,” he said.
“That will not happen.”
Mr Pallas said no decision had been made about whether to use the Wyndham Vale property, as a temporary holding area.
“It vitally important we deliver this piece of infrastructure for the west.”
During his speech people in the crowd yelled insults and followed up with cries of “get out of town” as he left the meeting.
It comes after a federal Labor MP this morning hit out at the proposal.
The Wyndham Vale site is being considered as a back-up option for the PFAS-contaminated soil, once drilling eventually starts on the problem-plagued $6.7 billion project.
It has prompted anger from the local council and some residents, and Lalor MP Joanne Ryan also weighed in this morning, saying she was not confident the plan “will have the safety measures in place to protect people and to protect the environment”.
She said Transurban and its construction partners needed to “listen to our community’s wishes” and ensure the soil was “taken from source to disposal or treatment facility”.
“I have decided not to support Transurban’s toxic soil plan for the community I have called home for my entire life,” Ms Ryan said.
“I am not satisfied that we are hearing talk of plans for extenuating circumstances when there is no plan detailing the final disposal or treatment facility.”
Premier Daniel Andrews denied her comments represented an internal split in the Labor Party.
“No decision has been made about where spoil will go or how that will be processed,” Mr Andrews said.
“We are working through those issues and when we have more to say about those sites and any decisions that have been made then we will do so.”
“This project is fundamentally of profound benefit to Joanne Ryan’s local community. That’s the point I would make to her and everybody in the west.”
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Ms Ryan said she was a supporter of the Andrews Government’s investment in the second western river crossing.
“So many people from my community commute to and from the city for work and for pleasure; they pay Transurban tolls to do their jobs and to enjoy their free time. And many more will use the completed West Gate Tunnel when it’s completed,” she said.
“As we go forward, I’ll continue to work in the interest of my community, with concerned locals, with Transurban and others to find a solution which works for everyone.”