Thursday, 30 May 2024

Waste and recycling management

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (18:19): (947) My adjournment is directed towards the Minister for Water, and it concerns the illegal dumping of rubbish in the northern suburbs, which is rife in my community, particularly in the outer northern suburbs. I know it also happens in the inner city; my friend Mr McGowan was jogging through Richmond and found some rubbish on the footpath somewhere. But people contact me exacerbated about the government doing nothing about it – not the local council, the government entities responsible for the sites, or the state government. And because Labor cannot manage money, they have jacked up the municipal waste charge, putting in more barriers to legally dump rubbish during a cost-of-living crisis for my community.

A specific example of this is the massive illegal dumping going on outside a water-filling station on Mt Ridley Road in Craigieburn adjacent to the Hume Highway. For the minister’s attention, it is just north of the footpath exiting Excelsior Heights. I am sure Mr Erdogan knows where that is as well. It is consistently used as a dumping ground for all manner of rubbish. There are fridges. There were a couch, nappies and off milk. Many locals actually believe it should be fenced off by the state government so that it is not used as a free tip. While locals do not believe it adds to local amenity, I am sure it is enjoyed by a large number of rats. Lots of people have said they have actually tried to send it on the Snap Send Solve app, but that is not going to do anything for a massive pile of waste, so I would like to thank Hume City councillor Jim Overend for bringing this to my attention.

I seek the action of the minister to investigate fencing off the site at the Yarra Valley water-filling station on Mt Ridley Road in Craigieburn. I also seek the action of the minister to come with me to this site so that she can investigate it herself, because it is really important that we get rid of this massive pile of waste. It is close by to the Merri Creek and a number of other creeks that flow through the beautiful northern suburbs, and what happens with large piles of waste is they seep into the ground. They will affect our waterways, so I am actually sick of the passing of the buck between the council, the state government and even the federal government. Because it is adjacent to the Hume Highway, some people think it is a federal government thing. No, it is outside of a water-filling station, which is where the fence is. It would be great if the fence could be moved to the road so that people could not use this site as a disposal ground for dumping rubbish.