Member for Goulburn, Wendy Tuckerman, has welcomed a push by The NSW Nationals to establish a Parliamentary inquiry into waste-to-energy incinerators, amid growing concern that regional communities are being burdened with Sydney’s excess waste.
The proposed inquiry comes as nearly one million tonnes of Sydney’s waste could be redirected to regional NSW each year – including 380,000 tonnes earmarked for incineration at a proposed “waste to energy” facility in Tarago, just outside the Goulburn electorate.
“This incinerator is a serious issue for our region,” Mrs Tuckerman said. “Local residents have raised genuine concerns around the environmental and health impacts. If it’s safe enough for Sydney then it should be built there, so I strongly support an inquiry to give our communities a voice.”
A motion will be moved to establish an inquiry when state Parliament returns in August led by Nationals Upper House MPs Nichole Overall and Scott Barrett.
Mr Barrett said this is a chance for those impacted communities to have their voices heard.
“The communities hosting these projects have every right to have their say and we’ll be pushing hard to make that happen,” Mr Barrett said.
“Despite the Minns Labor Government admitting it is going to run out of landfill space in Sydney before the end of the decade, its only solution seems to be dumping that waste and burning it in regional areas, far away from any of their local constituents.
“This inquiry will allow people to make contributions and have their questions answered – which is something that’s been sorely missing from the consultation phase of these projects.”
Both areas were earmarked for waste-to-energy projects under a 2022 regulation requiring such facilities to be built in regional areas, but Mrs Overall said issues raised by communities have been ongoing.
“Having previously met with concerned residents in the Tarago area, I’m also on the record questioning Labor’s Environment Minister on why Western Sydney isn’t suitable to take Sydney’s waste but it’s apparently fine for the regions – for which no answer was provided,” Mrs Overall said.
“Now a number of Parkes locals have come to me with their valid questions, from emissions to potential agricultural and health implications, and this inquiry will ensure these matters are properly addressed.”
“We need a guarantee that any solution won’t leave some areas worse off than others.”
Mrs Tuckerman said she would continue to advocate for residents of the Goulburn electorate and fight to ensure that any waste solution does not come at the cost of regional communities.
The proposed terms of reference for the Parliamentary Inquiry include:
- The performance of the technologies proposed for the Tarago and Parkes Energy Recovery Facilities as compared to leading thermal technologies employed in “state of the art” facilities internationally;
- The spread of the emissions predicted and the quality of emissions to be generated;
- Health impacts from currently operating older technology waste incinerators as compared to the proposed newer technology;
- Impacts on human health including on regional town drinking water, rainwater harvesting and soil contamination;
- The impact on agriculture including sheep, cattle and crop production locally and across the wider region;
- Alterations to the Parkes Special Activation Precinct specifically in relation to the proposed Energy Recovery Facility in that region;
- Impacts of waste-dumping over a number of decades in the Tarago region;
- The methodology of emission monitoring employed by leading large scale waste-to-energy facilities in Australia and across the world;
- And any related matters.
WENDY TUCKERMAN 