Greg Mirabella (Victoria, Liberal Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Victorian government's ongoing disregard of the health and safety rights of the people of western Victoria, specifically those constituents who are in the new seat of Hawke, regarding the disposal of toxic soil out of Melbourne and into regional Victoria. The Andrews Labor government's West Gate Tunnel Project is transferring toxic soil to contractors despite community outcry and frustration, and an ongoing court proceeding. The residents of Bacchus Marsh and Sunbury have cried out against dumping of toxic soil next to aged-care facilities, schools, a residential estate and, alarmingly, an active creek system. How much longer do regional Victorians have to go on being ignored by their own state government? It seems that the Andrews government believes the project and its contractors are more important than the people the government is supposed to represent. There have been several spills of contaminated soil on the roads from the dig site to the site where the soil is stored. This only highlights the fears of the residents and, if anything, should reinforce the strange absence of consultation between the Victorian government and its contractors.

There's a further concern for the burden of transporting huge volumes of soil through regional roads. The heritage listed Bulla Road Bridge already has to accommodate nearly 400 trucks crossing it every day. The Bacchus Marsh Avenue of Honour is impacted by these trucks carrying their toxic cargo. The addition of these soil trucks without adequate traffic management will pose unacceptable risks to road safety. Regional Victoria must be not used as a rubbish tip for urban Melbourne. I call on the Victorian Labor government to do what is right by regional Victoria and the people of Bacchus Marsh, Sunbury and Bulla.