Tuesday, 17 February 2026

 Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (17:53): (2311) Well, there are a few battles going on at the moment, both inside and outside of these corridors: Batchelor v Berger, Tierney v Watt, McIntosh v Shing and Erdogan v Watt. But I am more interested in the battles between locals and the criminal underworld, so my adjournment is to the Minister for Environment, and it concerns the dangerous and concerning practice of illegal waste incineration in the northern suburbs. Recently I visited the Wollert CFA with the Leader of the Opposition Jess Wilson, who I am very pleased to say was very warmly received, like she is everywhere, by the brigade and the local community. She is someone that can openly attend CFA brigades without running away. We publicly signed the CFA volunteers pledge, which we were happy to do. But while we were there, the CFA volunteers told us about two properties – one on Summerhill Road and the other on Donnybrook Road – where criminal gangs are running under-the-table open-air black market waste incineration for domestic builders, who are more than happy to pay, unfortunately, the cut price of $500, compared to the $1400 they would have to pay for this to be done legally. This is leading to open-air burning of domestic building waste, including asbestos. I was shocked to learn of this occurring and that it has even taken place during total fire bans, risking devastating consequences for local communities. These operators are violent criminals or are criminals, and CFA volunteers require a police escort to be able to get onto these properties to assess the sites and get the fires under control. It is a huge drain on the CFA and a huge drain on police resources.

I am aware that EPA is already aware of this. They have even posted on social media about it. But I want to know what the government is doing, because it appears there can be nothing done about it. Any attempt to enforce laws is going by the wayside, and this open-air incineration of domestic building waste, including asbestos, keeps happening. These properties are right near Donnybrook Road, which, as I have spoken about many times before, is a one way in, one way out road. If there is a fast-moving grassfire on a hot day like today, there will be issues. I therefore seek the action of the minister to urgently work with their department and the appropriate authorities to shut down these illegal waste incineration sites in the north.