Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to express my clear and absolute opposition on behalf of the people of Crib Point, the people of Hastings and many other members of the electorate of Flinders to the ridiculous proposal for a bitumen plant on the edge of the town of Crib Point. It is the re-industrialisation of a town that has become a residential community. It is not an appropriate use for the land, which is right on the edge of residences.

Firstly, a consequence will be truck movements in and out of the town of Hastings, throughout Crib Point and through Bittern. All of those areas will be facing numerous B-double trucks on a daily basis, right through the middle of a residential corridor—right through residential streets. Secondly, the odours will have an impact on potential house values and on the quality of life and amenity for those who are living adjacent to or near the bitumen plant. Thirdly, it would effectively destroy the Hastings and Crib Point submarine project. That project is a community project. What has happened here is that the Port of Hastings has allowed the proposal for a bitumen plant to effectively rule out a longstanding community proposal by taking the land, which had been allocated for a community proposal, away from the Oberon submarine project—the HMAS Otama, a submarine that was gifted by the Commonwealth, along with an additional $450,000, to the town and the community of Hastings and Crib Point. It would destroy that project.

For all of those reasons, this is not acceptable. Moreover, it is a breach of an express, clear and absolute promise made by the current state government of Victoria prior to the state election of 2006. I repeat: it was an express, clear and absolute promise that there would be no bitumen plant in Crib Point.

Going forwards, I have written to the Minister for Roads and Ports, the Hon. Tim Pallas, seeking two things: firstly, a meeting; and, secondly, an undertaking that this proposal not only will not be allowed to proceed but will not be allowed to derail the Hastings submarine project. The Western Port Oberon Association is a group of locals. They have worked on this for five years. They have been the victims of a long process of indecision by the state government in relation to a series of sites. The bitumen plant should not proceed. The submarine project should be approved immediately. (Time expired)