Page 2117 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 2 August 2022
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Environment—Callum Brae Nature Reserve—petition 16-22
MS CLAY (Ginninderra) (10.56): I would like to speak about three of the petitions tabled today, two of which I have sponsored.
I sponsored the Callum Brae Nature Reserve petition. Pamela Collett brought that to me, along with several community members. They were really worried about a proposed development of a large crematorium and works next to Callum Brae, and they are worried that will detract from connectivity and destroy mature trees.
I understand that Callum Brae contains critically endangered Yellow Box, Blakely Red Gum, grassy woodland and is habitat to several species, some of which are listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. It is also a popular spot with walkers and a great location for birdwatchers.
I have asked several ministers questions about our current and future needs for crematoria services in the ACT. In the last two years we have doubled our crematoria from one to two. This current proposal, that the petition is about, is a tentative third, and there is a fourth planned as part of Southern Memorial Park.
The 583 people that have signed this petition,.; are requesting the Assembly: review Canberra’s needs for future crematoria—ensuring that we only build as many as we need; consider alternative burial methods; ensure a full environmental assessment is done for this particular DA; and add a block and a section to the existing Callum Brae Nature Reserve.
I am really looking forward to the petition travelling through the Assembly process.
Waste—proposed waste to energy incinerator site—petition 12-22
MS CLAY (Ginninderra) (10.58): I also sponsored the petition by Communities Against the Tarago Incinerator—about the New South Wales government proposal for a waste-to-energy incinerator at Tarago, which is only 35 kilometres from the ACT border and around 50 kilometres from where Harrison and Hackett residents live. That petition has 919 signatures, which shows that a lot of people are really concerned about this.
The ACT government has a commitment not to build waste-management facilities here in the ACT, and there are serious and genuine risks raised by the community about the burning of rubbish.
The ACT government is currently seeking to include the right to a healthy environment in our Human Rights Act, and I am interested in how a waste-to-energy facility on our doorstep will fit in with that.
This petition states that the proposed incinerator at Tarago will burn 380,000 tonnes of Sydney’s waste each year, including plastics, municipal and industrial waste. The petition says it will operate 24 hours a day for 30 years.
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