Wednesday, 12 November 2025

 David ETTERSHANK (Western Metropolitan) (12:54): (1944) My question is for the Minister for Environment and it concerns the malodorous Kealba landfill. My constituents are gobsmacked at reports that the EPA is considering reinstating Barro Group’s landfill licence after dropping criminal charges earlier this year. As the minister will be aware, hotspot fires have been burning at the landfill for six years and will likely continue for another four years. Residents who live only a couple of hundred metres from the tip describe the smell as a mix of chemical fertilisers, rotten eggs, molten plastics and burning animal carcasses. My constituents ask: will the minister rule out reinstating the Barro Group’s licence, and if not, what are the minister’s plans to strengthen EPA enforcement against further breaches of environmental duty at this and other waste management operators?