Best Suburban Report in Print Quill 2010

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Your latest community news and pictures • www.themail.com.au

MAILCirculating in the City ofHobsons Bay

Wednesday, August 4, 2010 12 Howes Street, AirportWest. Phone:83185777 Fax: 83185769 Classifieds:132425 Fax:92387676 Price 50¢(inc GST)

FAIRFAXCOMMUNITYNETWORK

Altona-

Laverton

themail.com.au

Deadlyconcerns:Altona residents and their council representative Tony Briffa [front left] at the fumigation site. Picture: ScottMcNaughton

ByGoyaBennett

Lethalscare

Alarm at poisonous gas close to homes

CONTINUEDPAGE 3

EXCLUSIVERESIDENTS are alarmed that a lethalgas is being used to fumigate logs fromthe Black Saturday bushfires about 200metres from Altona homes.

The site is less than a kilometre fromPrime Minister Julia Gillard’s house and Altona College.

Viking Express Transport has sub-contracted Footscray-based Container Fumigation Services (CFS) to treat logsdestined for China with methyl

bromide. The toxic gas has beenbanned in other countriesand parts of Australia.New Zealand’s maritime union becamepart of a Coalition against the use of Methyl Bromide after six port workers

died from motor neurone disease.Viking has applied for a permit fromHobsons Bay Council to establish a per-manent freight terminal for the storageand loading of logs at 441-459 KororoitCreek Road.

Contacted by the Altona-LavertonMail , Viking general manager MichaelDuckworth said the fumigation had nothing to do with him and directed us

to talk to CFS.A CFS representative, who would noteven confirm the spelling of his name,yesterday said he had been instructed not to talk to Fairfax.

Concerned resident and businessowner Jarrod Crowley said he had strong reservations about the use of methyl bromide. ‘‘The research I’vedone [indicates] it’s a carcinogen,’’ hesaid. ‘‘It causes cancer, birth defects.I’m worried that they’re importing and exporting containers using methylbromide without a permit.

‘‘The concern is that methyl bromide,as a liquid, shouldn’t be used 150 metres or so from homes, but whenit’s a fumigant it’s an aerosol, so it’s air-

based and travels a lot further.‘‘A lot of countries around the world and, in particular, in parts of Australiahave now banned it because it’s notallowed to be used within two kilo-

metres of homes.’’ Another residentRaymond Ross said his daughter and her friends had reported seeing whatthey thought was green mould on theground.

They play on the vast tract of land near the logs being fumigated.

‘‘I class it as our backyard,’’ Mr Rosssaid. ‘‘It’s been our backyard for four years and the kids come over here and play. My daughter . . . thought it wasmould, but it’s actually green stuff fromover there. ’’

Resident Jenny Dybalo said she wasupset that Viking did not mention thefumigation in its planning permit.

METHYL BROMIDE:

WHAT IS IT?

■ Colourless, odourless, non-flammable gas used as a pesticide.■ Classified as an acute healthhazard.■ Corrosive to exposed tissues.■ Exposure can cause nervoussystem toxicity, pulmonary edema.■ Effects include blurred vision,mental confusion, numbness andspeech defects.

Source: BOC gases



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larm raised on use of deadly gas near homesFROM PAGE 1

‘‘They’ve suggested they’re

going to be a transport industryand in fact they’re not.’’

Hobsons Bay deputy mayor Tony Briffa said he stronglyopposed Viking’s permit applic-

ation.‘‘Methylbromide has beenbanned across the EuropeanUnion. It’s not only bad for peo-

ple’s health but bad for ozoneand the environment.

‘‘If it’s one of the Chinese gov-ernment’s requirements tofumigate these logs with methyl

bromide, they can ship the logsas they areto Chinese watersand fumigate them there. New Zeal-

and also exports logs to China,but they fumigate the logs incontainers at sea. We should insist on the same process.’’

LastFriday, the councilapplied

to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for anenforcement order to imm-

ediately stop Viking fromcontinuing to fumigate logs atAltona.

At last night’s council meeting,CrBriffa wasexpectedto movea

motion to write to Victoria’schief health officer, John Carnie,Hea lt h M in is te r Dan ie l

Andrews, Environment and Cli-mate Change Minister GavinJennings and Altona MP JillHennessy requesting their inter-vention.

Fears over high-rise plan

By LinaMesiti

Nothere: David Kelly and Cathy Miles are concerned about a proposedhigh-rise development near a primary school. Picture:Cathy Jackson

Residentsangered

A PROPOSED four-storey devel-opment a few metres away from aprimary school and a convent inAltona’s Sargood Street has out-raged the community.

Cathy Miles, whose childrenApril, 10, and Alyce, 8, attend StMary’s Primary School, said shewas appalled.

‘‘I am very concerned that a12.5-metre-high building over-looking our school playground and [which] will affect our children’sprivacy is being considered,’’ MrsMiles said.

‘‘The balcony and roofs directlyoverlook the school grounds, and the school’s safety is at risk because of limited parking in thestreet.

‘‘Developers say they will

provide on-site parking, but fromwhat we can see on the plans theyare still nine short, which meanspeople will have to park on thestreet.’’

Mrs Miles said there were alsoissues surrounding the basementcar park.

‘‘The car park will be built 0.8 of a metre below ground level, mak-ing it susceptible to flooding.

‘‘It also means drivers will havetoaccelerateto get out ofthe build-ing, which will put children walk-ing past at risk.

‘‘Hobsons Bay Council’s policyof no more than a nine-metrebuilding in one street stepped back should be adhered to.

‘‘In fact, council and thedevelopers should simply respectthat this development is notwanted by the community.’’

St Mary’s principal David Kelly

said he had major concerns over the proposal.

‘‘We have put in an objection tocouncil and we did not do thatlightly.

‘‘Our objection was based on thesize and bulk of the development,

traffic and parking and the possib-ility of flooding because of thebasement car park.

‘‘I have had discussions with thedevelopers and they’ve taken thetime to meet with me to explainwhat they are proposing, but I stillhave a problem with the fact thatthe building overlooks the school’s

play area.’’ Resident Angela Har-rison said: ‘‘I don’t know how theycan even propose a basement car park.

‘‘Due to the low-lying nature of Altona, changing sea levels would pose increased flooding risks.’’

Council’s planning and environ-ment director Peter Gaschk confirmed the development pro-posal had been submitted to thecouncil.

‘‘No. 53 (the proposed develop-ment site] is a residential 1 zoneand no overlays exist,’’ Mr Gaschk said.

Fat in creekinvestigatedBy GoyaBennett

RESIDENTS are outraged at aspill of what appears to beanimal fat into Kororoit Creek at the weekend.

EPA spokeswoman Ruth Wardsaid Brooklyn-based companyAustralian Tallow was helping withinvestigations.

As reported by this newspaper last November, Australian Tallowwas fined $5841 for offensiveodours emanating from itsGeelong Road meat processing plant.

Friends of Lower Kororoit Creekpresident Geoff Mitchelmore saidthere were fatty-type globulesfloating up the creek on Sunday,stretching for up to half a kilo-metre.

‘‘It looked like a fatty material,probably half a metre to a metrein diameter, and in some spots it was an inch thick. It closed downthe creek.

‘‘It was an orange-yellowycolour and if you got it on your hands, you couldn’t get it off.

‘‘I think the EPA should throw

the book at t he companyresponsible.’’Ms Ward said EPA investiga-

tions were continuing.‘‘EPA Victoria is investigating

what appears to be a spill of tallow from a stormwater draininto Kororoit Creek that occurredover the weekend,’’ she said.

‘‘The rain has flushed theproduct into the stormwater system and into the creek.

‘‘Samples have been taken. Aclean-up is under way and EPAwill ensure this is completedappropriately.’’

Freeway fatality A 30-YEAR-old man died following a crash in North Laverton onSunday.

Police believe a Ford stationwagon was travelling on the West Gate Freeway about 4.50pm whenit left the road and struck a polewhile entering the Western Ring Road.

Pokie spending dips

GAMBLERS spent almost $50 million on poker machines inHobsons Bay during the 2009-10financial year, according to datareleased by the VictorianCommission for Gambling Regula-tion.

That compares with just over $54 million in 2008-09.



Fairfax Community Network themail.com.au News

Council to turf outugly nature stripsBy Goya Bennett

HOBSONS Bay residents could be f ined $1000 for changingtheir nature strip without a per-mit under a draft policy beingconsidered by the council.

Residents who have alreadymodified their nature strip willbe required to obtain a permitwithin13 monthsto avoid a fine.

The nature strip plantingpolicy, which is available for comment from the communityuntil September 17, includes amaximum grass height of 300 millimetres.

A permit will allow residents

to plant a maximum of threeplant species, up to 30 centi-metres, in organic mulch outsidetheir home.

Addressing last Tuesday’scouncil meeting, Williamstownward councillor Angela Altair said there had been crass exam-ples in of people changing their nature strips.

‘‘I think we’re coming down,quite properly, pretty tough onvery inappropriate stuff, includ-ing hard surfaces and concreteand asphalt,’’ she said.

‘‘I know some people havebeen putting on artificial turf ...and it looks particularly awful

because in some instancesyou’ve got weeds growingthrough it.

‘‘We really do need to makesure that our nature strips, whichare very much a continuation of gardens, continue to provide avisually pleasing aspect to our city.’’

Permits will cost $100, with a$500 asset-protection bond refundable upon inspection of completed works.

The draft policy is availableonline at www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/haveyoursay or at theHobsons Bay Civic Centre, 115Civic Parade, Altona.

A greeneducationPupilsat St Leo theGreat Primary School inAltonaNorth are doing their bitfor theenvironmentand their ownhealthby learninghowto grow vegies.Prep students, including Dennis Nguyen,MoniqueSeparovicandAmeliaMcPherson (pictured),planteda newvegetablegarden last week. Their task nowis tohelplookafter it.

Footscray company stops using lethal gasFROM PAGE 1

Toxic issue: How we broke the story last week.

He said people exposed to the chem-

ical were 60 times more likely todevelop the incurable and fatal disorder.

New Zealand’s maritime unionbecame part of a coalition against theuse of methyl bromide after six portworkers died from motor neuronedisease.

Williamstown resident Greg Murrayhad vowed to enlist union support toenforce a picket line outside Viking’s

front gate if the fumigation did not stop.‘‘Parents will notsit idly byany longer

and watch their children be poisoned by

those more interested in putting profitsbefore people’s health,’’ he said.

‘‘This latest incident sees this com-pany spewing their carcinogenicgarbage within 150 meters of housesand children’s play area, and all thisbeing done against the law.

‘‘They continue to break the law, thepoliticians and relevant agencies knowthey are breaking the law, and yet they

do nothing. Why?’’ Environment Pro-tection Authority spokeswoman RuthWard said it had no jurisdiction over the

use of methyl bromide.Hobsons Bay deputy mayor and

Altona ward councillor Tony Briffa said he was still concerned Viking had applied for a council permit to establisha permanent freight terminal for thestorage and loading of logs — whichcould see the return of fumigation.

‘‘I am pleased Viking Express Trans-port has decided to cease fumigating

logs in Altona, but am still concerned it’s hoping to do it again in future.

‘‘I respectfully ask Viking Express to

listen to the community’s oppositionand concerns and use an alternative tomethyl bromide, such as fumigating thelogs at sea.

‘‘It’s about being respectful to the con-cerns of the local community, especiallywhere our health is concerned.’’

More than 60 objections have beenlodged in response to Viking’s permitapplication.



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New toxic gas fears at Brooklyn estateBY GOYA BENNETT

BROOKLYN residents fear they may have been

exposed to a toxic gas that has been banned inseveral countries and linked to deaths frommotorneuronedisease.

Amidthe latest scare, HobsonsBay councillorMichael Raffoul last week called for an immedi-ate stop to any use of methyl bromide on theBrooklyn industrialestate.

It is the second time in four months that the

Weekly has revealed fears that the deadly, odour-less gas was being used for industrial purposesnearsuburban homesand schools. Methylbrom-ideis sometimes used forlog fumigation.

In August (pictured right), we revealed VikingExpress Transport was fumigating Black Sat-urday logs destined for China in Altona less thana kilometre from Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s

houseand AltonaCollege.At the time, the company was operating with-

out a planning permit.Brian Long, of the Brooklyn Residents Action

Group, said a new business involving ‘‘thousandsof logscovered with tarpaulins’’ had appeared onthe nearby industrial estate about four weeksago. While use of the chemical in the latest casewas unconfirmed, the Environment Protection

Authority has issued a notice demanding to

know theidentity of theoccupierof a SomervilleRoad property. It has also outlined the EPAguidelinesfor usingmethyl bromide.

Victorian law requires the full capture andreuse, recycling or destruction of the ozone-depleting substance.

Whilethe EPA wouldnot name theoccupier of the site, the Weekly can report it is Slidecross

Transport.

Owner PaulRibbera lastFridayrefused to sayif hewas fumigatingon site at Brooklyn.

Asked several times if he was using methylbromide, Mr Ribbera said he had to consult hislawyer before answering. ‘‘I can’t tell you thatright now,’’ he said. ‘‘I know it’s an an easyquestion,but I need to covermyself.’’

Brimbank Council’s city development general

manager, Stephen Sully, said compliance officers

attended the site on a number of occasions last

weekbut foundno evidenceof fumigation.‘‘Discussions with the operatorhave indicated

that this component of the operation is beingdone off site at another location outside of themunicipality. Therefore there is no risk from thecurrent operation.’’

But Mr Long said the EPA and BrimbankCouncil werefailing the community.

‘‘Why the secrecy? Aren’t the EPA supposed tobe[acting] inthe interestsof thecommunity?

‘‘I can’t see how anybody can possibly with-hold thenameof a company if they’re operating.

‘‘The Brimbank Council chief executive, NickFoa, said if there was any new industry [on the

Brooklyn industrial estate] residents would benotified. Nobody is telling us anything,’’ MrLong said. ‘‘We’re already getting the dust andthe dirt and the crap, and now this is going to

come acrossin a north wind.’’Cr Raffoul said nothing justified any use of a

lethal fumigant near residents. ‘‘Fumigation isnot warranted in and around Brooklyn. It shouldcease immediately.’’

Hobsons Bay deputy mayor Tony Briffa saidsubstantial community concerns were compoun-dedby themovementof logs and‘‘theinability of the EPA and Brimbank Council to confirm

fumigationis not takingplace’’.

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[ 4 ] WEEKLY – YOUR COMMUNITY VOICE December 8, 2010 [ALT]

Company told to stop use of toxic gasBY GOYA BENNETT

A COMPANY was last Friday ordered to stopusing methyl bromide at its Brooklyn site, threedays after the Weekly reported residents’ fears of havingbeenexposedto thetoxicgas.

Slidecross Transport in Sommerville Road wasissued witha noticeto cease by theEnvironmentProtectionAuthorityand Brimbank Council.

Hobsons Bay councillor Michael Raffoul said

itwas a great outcome.‘‘Methylbromide is banned in Russia, Norway

and the European Union. It’s soon to be bannedbythe US.Its useis bannedin several countriessowhy should Brooklyn tolerate it.’’

Deputy mayor Tony Briffa said fumigationwas done offshore in New Zealand andTasmania.

‘‘I appreciatethere is extra costwhenfumigat-

ing at sea, but I don’t know why they are notdoing that here. I can’t imagine this happening inthe eastern suburbs,’’ he said.

Owner of Slidecross Transport Paul Ribberasaid hisfirmshould notbe singled out.

‘‘Every single import-export company isfumigating. This is not my problem; this is thewholeof Australia.’’

New Zealand’s maritime union became part of

a coalition against the use of methyl bromideafter sixport workers died frommotor neuronedisease.

Brian Long, a member of the Brooklyn Resid-ents Action Group, said it wasn’t just residents’health being put at risk. ‘‘There’s cafes, restaur-ants, food places . . . plus what about the work-ersat all the othercompanies?’’

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United: Workers on the picket line.

Meatworkers

inwagewarABOUT 140 meatworkers have vowed to picketuntil Christmas if necessary after being lockedoutof a Brooklynplant.

National Union of Workers members aredemandinga cost-of-living wageincrease.

Employer Swift Australia has offered 2 perc en t i n e ac h o f t he n ex t t wo y ea rs i nexchange for working Saturdays with reducedpenalties.

About 3.30am last Friday, workers beganpicketing outside the meat processing plant inIndustry ParkDrive.

Swift corporate manager John Berry saidworkers had been locked out because they choseto takeindustrialaction.

‘‘They’re entitled to do that under legislationjust as we are entitled to lock out people whowantto takeindustrialaction,’’ he said.

He said Swift, Australia’s biggest meat packerand exporter, had made sure meat supplies wereguaranteedfor Christmas.

Union organiser Gary Maas said workers,most of whom received $17.30 an hour, werebeing forced to work 12-hour shifts onSaturdays. He warned Christmas meat suppliescouldbe threatened.

‘‘Members are more than happy to stay out tillChristmas if that’s whatit takes.’’

— GoyaBennett



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Trade’s at stake, says firm in toxic-gas row

Halted: A stationary loaderat Slidecross last Friday.Picture: Scott McNaughton

BY GOYA BENNETT

A BROOKLYN businessorderedto stopfumig-ating with methyl bromide after being exposedbythis newspaperhas gone onthe offensive.

Slidecross Transport last week invited theWeekly on to itsSomerville Road site in a bidtoshow there were no adverse health risks from theodourlessgas.

The company, which fumigates logs for exportto China, wantsto resume fumigation as soonaspossible.

Methyl bromide has been linked to motorneurone disease and is banned in several coun-tries and parts of Australia. The European Union

banned its use in March under the Montreal Pro-tocolto phaseout ozone-depletingsubstances.

Operationssupervisor Andrew Chan saidAus-

tralia’smultibillion-dollartrade was at stake.‘‘The depletion of the ozone layer, if you weigh

that out, the trade we’re risking is greater thanthat.

‘‘I know that Europe has banned it, but havingsaid that,in theUS and a lotof othercountriesithasn’t beenbanned.

‘‘Unless Australia can give us a better solutionnot to use it for our trade, then we have tocontinueusing it.’’

Owner Paul Ribberra said his firm had beenunfairly singled out when numerous businessesall overAustraliawere usingmethyl bromide.

‘‘We’re actually doing scientific tests on this

now to show that i t doesn’t harm anybody,’’ hesaid.

Hesaid thechemical wasmainly used forgrain

and otherfood commodities, includingstrawber-ries anddried fruit.

‘‘I’d really be worrying about what’s in ourfood.’’

Mr Ribberra said protests by Hobsons BayCouncil werethreatening trade.

‘‘If the council doesn’t want it in their area,that’s fine; just tell the state government, ‘Wedon’t want it in our area, give us something elsefortheseguysto use’.

‘‘You can’t justkill business.‘‘If we kill the business, what are we going to

do?’’Tasmania and some countries fumigate with

methyl bromide offshore, while others use analternative chemical, phosphine.

Residents fuming, too

No more: Brian Long, with his son Mitchell, is concerned for residents’ and workers’ health. Picture: Lucy Aulich

BROOKLYN residents havevowedtofight any moves by Slidecross Trans-port to resume fumigation at itsSomervilleRoad site.

On December 3, Brimbank Councilfined Slidecross $1198 and directed itto cease all activity at 463A SomervilleRoad.However, the company hopestoresumefumigation nextyear.

Brooklyn Residents Action Groupmember Brian Long, who also workson theBrooklyn industrialestate,saidresidents and workers feared for theirhealth. He said Slidecross owner PaulRibbera’s claims that methyl bromidewas not harmful contradicted allhealth warnings. ‘‘If it’s not toxic whyhasn’t he notified all the adjoiningproperties, because every single one of theirworkersis at risk,’’ MrLong said.

‘‘If there’s no problems, why didn’the notify all the other businesses andall the food processing plants in thearea? You’ve got Tasman Meats andthey’re not aware of them spraying —

openly spraying. We’re gonnabe fight-ingthisall theway.’’

Before the former Brumby govern-ment wasdefeated at last month’s elec-tion, the health department and otheragencies had been working withHobsons Bay Council to plan forfuture responses in relation to methylbromide after an Altona business wasforced to ceaseon-sitefumigation.

Mayor Michael Raffoul said hewould advise Brimbank Council of fumigation concerns and seek anassurance that methyl bromide wasnot being used or stored at Slidecrossand that fumigation was not beingconductedon site.

Deputy mayor Tony Briffa renewedcalls for methyl bromide to be banned.‘‘I regret the use of methyl bromide ispermitted by theEPA andfederalgov-ernment, particularly as it is banned inmany other parts of the world due toits adverse environmental and healthimpacts.’’

Best Suburban Report in Print Quill 2010

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