BUILDING BETTER REGIONS FUNDING AND SOME TIPS ABOUT A TIP

Onslow has recently received $9.1 million in funding for a waste management facility, maybe like the one proposed for Allawuna Farm.

Paul Martin’s old habitat, Busselton, has received $1.5 million to improve its jetty tourism precinct.

Cable Beach, Broome, another Paul Martin camping ground is to get a $2.95 million upgrade for its indigenous cultural revitalization and healing centre.

Yalgoo, (population of around 160), is getting $787,000 to improve its sporting facilities, nearly $5,000 for every man, woman and child- and a skateboarding dog.

Around $3.2 million has been set aside for a brand new 50 metre, 8 lane swimming-pool to be constructed next to the highly successful and well patronized Northam Recreation Centre (NRC).

Yes- it is the exact same one that the Shire of York never appeared to look at during its YRCC business model, fact-finding meanderings through the Wheatbelt.

This, along with a brand new Aldi and Dome Restaurant (and Centrelink) makes Northam the undisputed Queen Bee of the Avon.

All this money has come from the Australia-wide ‘Building Better Regions Fund’ with WA receiving around $45 million.

Of course, as usual, York, WA’s oldest inland town does not get a cent.

That is the bad news-here is the news on Allawuna and the electoral landfill of councillors (metaphorically speaking) if it is ever approved by Council.

A letter of interest-only regarding the possible intent to develop the SUEZ landfill site at Allawuna has been received by neighbouring farmers.

No authority, whether Local Government, or the appropriate Ministers and their departments have received any application regarding Allawuna from any interested party, including Avon Waste.

A prospective purchaser with no known links to the waste management industry allegedly made an offer on Allawuna Farm close to the original SUEZ offer. This was rejected, possibly because it was for the entire farm, not just for the landfill site with its enormously inflated, per hectare, value.

So there is still a window of opportunity for companies committed to garbology.

SUEZ received approval from the former government, its relevant Ministers and departments for non-approved land use, according to the Shire of York records. This approval, possibly subject to a ‘Sunset Clause’ over-road any current local shire objections and will remain in full force and effect until the sun sets around March 2018.

So it may still be a case of fighting the good fight until the former government’s approval time-frame runs out.

In York’s favour is the fact that, arguably, extremely stringent environmental and disaster management measures must be met prior to any new approval being given for a landfill on Allawuna.

Despite what the former government and its Minister for Water, Mia Davies, said, Allawuna Farm is in a water-catchment area, a high impact earthquake zone and the area is subject to a meteorological temperature inversion that can trap airborne contaminants to the surrounding farms’ environmental detriment.(You would be better off dumping rubbish in the Garden of Eden.)

All the studies done by SITA/SUEZ regarding environmental damage to counter any objections was done at great cost, time, labour, expertise, effort and with a major smattering of bullshit.

SUEZ is highly unlikely to hand over its hard-earned intellectual property to some other waste management company without charging them a zillion dollars-or without having its own fingers in the putrid pie.

It would be fair to say that any new applicant should have to repeat this time consuming, expensive process to ensure it has the expertise to provide a safe and secure rubbish tip.

The Avon Valley has already had a financial disaster for a waste management company. It has to replace a massive, below ground liner because it did not meet the standard required.

None of the above is in defence of the current Shire of York Council- but it has to actually know what is going on before making public statements about anything.

In this particular case it appears, on the surface anyway, that there is nothing to tell at this stage.

If Allawuna Farm is revisited as a waste dump, you will hear the chains rattling against its farm-gate from York, to Perth, to Parliament House.

If you are still worried contact your local MP Mia.Davies@mp.wa.gov.au. She is the Leader of the Nationals only and has no shadow ministerial portfolio. So she should have plenty of time on her hands to listen to communities in her electorate and act in their best interest.

David Taylor.