Member for Parkes Jamie Chaffey has shared Parkes Shire Council’s concerns over an Energy-from-Waste project proposed for Parkes. Parkes Shire Council voted unanimously to formally object to the proposed Energy-from-Waste facility within the Parkes Special Activation Precinct.
Mr Chaffey said despite very clear concerns from the Parkes community, Regional Growth NSW Development Corporation (RGDC) had entered into a project development agreement with Parkes Energy Recovery Pty Ltd to establish the facility.
“Although the approval process is a matter for local and state governments, I made the commitment during the election campaign that one of my first tasks if I was elected, would be to get more details on the project and to meet with the proponent, Parkes Shire Council and concerned members of the community.
“There is tremendous opposition to this project in Parkes, largely due to the lack of information about the technology and its implications,” Mr Chaffey said. “The first hearing of the Parliamentary inquiry into proposed Energy-from-Waste facilities has already heard information that shows some concerning contradictions and information gaps. There have been concerns about the regional locations approved to host these facilities. Why should regional areas be dealing with Sydney’s waste?
“Health concerns including emissions and potential health impacts, along with questions about the government’s ability to adequately monitor and assess these types of facilities remain. In addition, many of the recommendations of a 2017 inquiry appear to have been ignored.
“As Mayor Neil Westcott has stated in his letter to NSW Premier Chris Minns, the development has fractured the Parkes community and left them without answers to significant questions about health and safety.
The Parkes Shire Council is the level of government closest to the community, and I trust it to have a finger on the pulse of the level of concern about this development.
“I support Parkes Shire Council and the Parkes community in calling for a referral of the project to the Independent Planning Commission and for the proposal to be called-in as a State Significant Development.
“This plan could mean 700,000 tonnes of Sydney rubbish is imported to Parkes every year – that’s an astonishing amount to be transported to a Shire with a population of about 15,000. It’s time for the NSW Government to listen to the people of Parkes.”