Ms O’CONNOR (Hobart) – Mr President, I rise to speak about a matter of very significant public interest to the people who live and work in Hobart. In early July, work began to excavate and remove contaminated soil from the stadium site at Macquarie Point, which comes, broadly, under the heading of preparatory works. Depending on whether it’s classified level 1, 2, 3, or 4 under the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act or EMCA, the soil at Macquarie Point is confirmed to contain various quantities and levels of mercury, arsenic, cyanide, lead and other heavy metals, asbestos-containing materials, other chemicals of concern and a number of volatile organic compounds.
It is a very heavily contaminated site as a result of decades of industrial use and waste dumping. The toxins on the Macquarie Point site pose a risk to public health and the environment if they are not treated with the greatest of care. The excavation, on‑site storage, removal and disposal of these poisoned soils is where the risk to public health on and off site – that’s to workers on the site, but also more broadly to the people of Hobart and visitors and the environment – is most elevated. So, of course, that’s where the greatest of care needs to be taken, because there is significant potential for plumes of contaminated material, dust and other emissions from the site.
Under EMCA, the government – the proponent, MPDC, has a legal obligation to not place public health at risk, but I believe questions remain over the volume of contaminated soil that will need excavation, treatment and removal on site. In Estimates last year, we had confusion over the numbers between the Environment Protection Authority, which thought there was between 130,000 and 220,000 tonnes of contaminated material on the site. In June this year it was up to 298,000 tonnes, so a significant increase on the EPA’s evidence between two Estimates committees. Macquarie Point Development Corporation thought it was around 130,000 cubic metres, which is a different measure in last year’s Estimates. In this year’s Estimates, we’re told that there’s around 100,000 cubic metres. The numbers are all over the place.
Hobart City Council officers, without reference back to elected members, have made an arrangement with MPDC to take 50,000 tonnes of level 2 contaminated waste at McRobies Gully, that’s about 1325 tonnes a week and up to 20 truck movements a day between the Macquarie Point site and McRobies Gully. Interestingly, the EPA guidelines for the classification and management of contaminated soil for disposal do not include McRobies Gully as a site for disposal, although I’m sure that the EPA has made an exception here.
We also had confirmation from the Director of the Environment Protection Authority, Catherine Murdoch, last year in Estimates that about 10 per cent or 30,000 tonnes of Level 3 waste is on site and that would make the total volume of waste, if you use those figures, around 300,000 tonnes. Level 3 contaminated waste is highly toxic and requires great care in its removal, so it is the assumption that level 3 contaminated waste, that 30,000 tonnes, will be sent to the Copping C Cell.
My point here today is this. There is a lack of transparency from Macquarie Point Development Corporation and this government about the process of site remediation, the volume of contaminated materials on site, how they will be treated on site and where they will be sent. Those elements are to be, as we understand it, included, incorporated in the construction environmental management plan and the site environmental management plan, neither of which we can find a contemporary version of online. So, there are many questions outstanding; there is a void of publicly accessible information, particularly for people who live in and around Hobart.
The people of Hobart have the right to know what is in that site, how much of it is there, that it’s being dealt with safely and transparently, and that the health of the city and their health, the health of our river will be protected at all stages of cleaning up that site. There are many questions remaining. The Greens will keep asking them, but I do hope the Leader for Government has been listening to my contribution today and perhaps will come in with some more information on where the construction environmental management plan and the site environmental management plan for the Macquarie Point Stadium site are to be publicly accessible.
