Yambuna air pollution
Peter WALSH (Murray Plains) (19:13): (1167) My adjournment matter tonight is for the Minister for Environment, and it is for him to have the EPA make a priority of the case concerning the offensive smell at Curr Road, Yambuna. 73-year-old Gayle Plattfuss and her son are long-term dairy farmers on Curr Road, Yambuna, and they are having to live with an extremely offensive smell from the neighbouring farm, which is receiving B-double loads of whey, which is a by-product of cheese manufacturing. This extreme smell has been occurring since January this year and has made the Plattfusses’ lives hell. The smell has been that bad at times they have not been able to hang the washing on the line because it absorbs that smell. In the hotter weather they could not turn on their evaporative cooler because it sucked the smell into the house, meaning long sleepless nights in hot weather. The smell has been that bad that family and friends no longer visit Gayle because they cannot bear the smell. I have personally visited Gayle’s farm and can attest to how bad the smell gets. When you get out of the car at the house, the smell literally makes you gag, and that is what they have to live with for days on end. Even the neighbours, who live a further kilometre away, have rung my office saying how bad the smell is. The EPA has made several visits to the district and spoken to the offending property’s workers about the issue, and despite assurances the smell continues to impact on the Plattfusses’ and their neighbours’ quality of life. The question they are asking is: why should this farm continue to receive dairy waste and impact on their standard of living? That is why I am asking the minister to have this case made a priority for the EPA to resolve.