By Violet Li
Community organisations across Casey banded together and held a public forum on the proposed Hampton Park waste transfer station to inform the residents of critical information before the upcoming EPA conference.
Lynbrook Residents Association (LRA), Hampton Park Progress Association (HPPA), and Casey Residents & Ratepayers Association (CRRA) held an information-orientated public forum in Hampton Park on Sunday 23 March. About 100 residents attended the day.
The forum featured presentations on the status of the Hallam Road landfill, the magnitude and scale of the proposed waste transfer station, the timeline of its application, the analysis of the scientific parts of the application, the alternative site analysis, the operator Veolia’s compliance history, community concerns, and what could be done to make the voices heard.
“The initial purpose was to get the community together in the lead0up to the EPA forum, which is coming up and just to get more information out there,” LRA president Scott Watson said.
“There are a lot of details out there, but many residents are not aware of it.”
As a parliamentary debate on the proposed Hampton Park Waste Transfer Station will be expected in the coming months, Mr Watson said the community had been happy that they were finally getting attention after two years of fighting.
“We’ll continue to ask the State Government Ministers to reject the proposal. And we will continue to assist the EPA on the consultation,” he said.
CRRA vice president Anthony Tassone said it was fantastic to see the turnout and the engagement and passion in the room.
“We’ll be happy with an outcome when there’s an alternative site found for a waste transfer station,” he said.
“It has no right to be so close to people’s homes.”
Casey Councillors Lynette Pereira, Carolyn Eaves, Michelle Crowther, and Shane Taylor attended the forum.
Opposition MP for South-Eastern Metropolitan Region Ann-Marie Hermans, Liberal Holt candidate Annette Samuel, South Eastern Metropolitan MP Rachel Payne, Greens Senator for Victoria Steph Hodgins-May, and Greens Holt candidate Payal Tiwari.
Narre Warren South MP Gary Maas could not make it to the day, but a recent message from him was played, which was met with a wave of laughs among the crowd.
In his Facebook video post on Friday 21 March, two days before the forum, he said that he was strongly against the proposed waste transfer station.
“I’ve written to and I’ve met with the Minister for Environment to express the concerns I’ve heard from my community,” he said.
“In the strongest possible terms, I have conveyed that Veolia should not be granted the license to operate the waste transfer station by the EPA.”
Ms Hermans, who tabled two petitions in parliament last month to stop the construction of the proposed waste transfer station, said at the forum that the real issue here was that a waste transfer facility of this magnitude could not be built in a residential area.
“That’s the bottom line,” she said.
“It’s going to go somewhere, but not in a residential zone.
“Nowhere in a first-world country do you have a situation like this in a residential zone. “It is completely and utterly unacceptable.”
She also pointed out there were underground springs all through the area.
“We do not know the impact on the waterways in these underground springs and the toxin levels that are there,” she said.
“We have not been able to get that information yet.”
Cr Pereira, who spoke on behalf of herself as a councillor, said the community was getting stronger and they would continue to fight.
The forum was livestreamed and recorded. If you wish to access the recording, go to the Hampton Park Progress Association Facebook page.
EPA hasn’t pinned down the date for its consultation conference. Star News will share the date as soon as it is announced.
