Wednesday, 6 March 2024

Suburban Rail Loop

Brad ROWSWELL (Sandringham) (19:14): (567) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, and the action that I seek is for the minister to provide my community, especially those in Pennydale, Cheltenham and Highett, with a comprehensive plan for managing and removing 6000 cubic metres of category A toxic waste from the Sir William Fry Reserve as part of the Allan Labor government’s Suburban Rail Loop project in my community.

I bring the house’s attention to an article in the Age newspaper of 28 January 2024 that reports that:

More than 1 million cubic metres of contaminated soil – including some waste that falls under the most toxic classification – will be dug up during the first stage of the Suburban Rail Loop, government documents show.

Category A waste, which is the highest reportable level and includes soil that can contain toxic gases and cannot be handled without treatment, will be largely found around the site …

where the Suburban Rail Loop commences.

Construction workers … will also handle large quantities of acid sulphate soil, which has the potential to become sulphuric acid if exposed to the wrong conditions.

The article goes on to say:

The most toxic classification is known as Category A. The documents expect 6000 cubic metres of this waste to be found in the area near the future SRL station at Cheltenham …

in my community.

This type has not previously been identified in early assessments of the West Gate Tunnel or North East Link and as recently as 2019 there were no facilities available to handle it.

Needless to say, community members, especially around Pennydale, Cheltenham and Highett, are deeply concerned by reports that there is the most toxic category A waste known to be at the Sir William Fry Reserve, the start of the government’s Suburban Rail Loop. I think it is entirely appropriate for the government to provide my community with a comprehensive plan, not just for the treatment of that toxic waste but for the removal of that toxic waste as well.