Environment

Incinerator approval would incentivise waste, warn Greens

Wednesday, 9th January 2019

The WA Greens have warned that household waste incinerator plants in WA would have detrimental effects on the health of local residents and lock in a need to produce waste in order to sustain dirty energy production.

Greens waste spokesperson Robin Chapple said that incineration is the symptom of a State Government not committed to actually reducing the amount of rubbish sent to landfill.

“The approval of incinerators means that a certain level of waste must be produced in order to sustain that company’s business model. We already have renewable energy sources in the pipeline, that are clean and reliable as well as cheap.

“Burning off waste destined for landfill isn’t even a short term band aid solution, it is a quick fix that will screw over local residents and lock in the current disastrous amount of waste we produce as a state.

“The Government has a chance to look meaningfully at our waste production and ensure that we divert as much as possible away from landfill and into the various recycling streams available. There are high quality WA jobs to be created if we genuinely look at tackling our waste output.

“We are very concerned that incineration to create dirty energy is incentivising and placing positive value on producing waste. That is the polar opposite of what we should be doing.”

Media Contact: Liam Carter – 0449 151 490

Greens MP slams pollution levels, calls for renewable energy

Tuesday, 20th November 2018

Greens MP Robin Chapple has raised concerns that any further industrialisation of the Burrup Peninsula would accelerate pollution levels, potentially making the air quality of the Karratha area one of the worst in Australia.

According to a recent report by the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Karratha based post code area of 6714 currently has 38741283.97 kg of emissions in the air, from 31 polluting facilities.

This places it as the 10th most polluting post code in all of Australia.

Alongside Newman, which ranks 2nd in Australia with 199441803.1 kg of emissions from 15 polluting facilities, the Pilbara area is one of the most heavily emitting regions in the nation.

Mr Chapple said that not only was the Burrup Peninsula under threat, but that WA is disproportionately contributing to climate change.

“The IPCC report recently released says that we have around a decade to act to avoid catastrophic climate change, and meanwhile the McGowan Government is championing further industrialisation in the North West.

“It is environmental vandalism of the highest degree. We are quite literally trashing the climate for future generations.

“Due to fossil fuels, pollution is so bad along the Pilbara coast that weather radars often show rain even on the sunniest of days. This is absolute madness.

“We simply cannot afford to further shirk our responsibilities to combat climate change, and with a truly incompetent federal Government it is even more urgent for the State to up their game. Instead, the McGowan Government are pushing on blindly ahead with climate wrecking projects.

“We need action on climate change and air pollution now. There is simply not enough time, we must rapidly transition to renewable energy or face the consequences of people dealing with not only polluted air but an extremely volatile climate too.”

Media contact: Liam Carter – 0449 151 490

Report: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/5115779/ACF-Pollution-Report.pdf

Greens warn Government against 'holiday release' of fracking decision

Thursday, 22nd November 2018

The Greens (WA) have warned the State Government against releasing the outcome of the fracking inquiry and any resulting decision just as Parliament ends, with Greens MP Robin Chapple arguing that the decision must be open to Parliamentary scrutiny.

Environment spokesperson Robin Chapple MLC said that there was a real risk that Labor would dump the report findings just as Parliament finishes for the year, hoping to avoid scrutiny, and has called on the McGowan Government to release the findings of the report immediately.

“We saw the Feds do it with climate emissions data on the eve of the Grand Final, we know that it is a tactic of Governments to release unpopular decisions or damning data when people are paying least attention.

“The WA Government should release the findings of the fracking report so that the public can examine it for themselves.

“The community will not put up with a halfway measure similar to the NT, and we will not allow groundwater to be poisoned in the name of extra cash for big companies.

“There is no future for fracking in WA. Submissions made by Buru Energy saw that there was no plan to properly manage waste from this toxic industry.

“We simply cannot allow an industry like this to operate if we wish to mitigate climate change and keep to our Paris commitments. Climate change is already affecting WA, and for the State Government to rip open WA for fracking would be tantamount to giving up.

“WA has huge potential for solar energy, which is clean, renewable and affordable. The Government should be investing in renewable energy rather than bowing to the pressure of lobbyists and federal Labor.

“Communities are waiting with baited breath to see the outcome of this scientific inquiry, and to see if the WA Government will commit to protecting the land by banning fracking across WA.

“The Greens are backing the communities, farmers and action groups that are firmly against fracking. We are calling on the State Government to join us and commit to a total ban on fracking.

“I remain hopeful that the State Government will come out against fracking, particularly given the huge amounts of pressure applied by community groups as well as members within the Labor Party’s own ranks.”

Media Contact: Liam Carter – 0449 151 490

Dingoes receive partial reprieve

Monday, 12th November 2018

The WA Greens have congratulated the Labor Government for abandoning the planned reclassification of wild dingoes as ‘non-native fauna’ but suggested they need to go further.  

Greens Spokesperson for the environment Robin Chapple, whose initial questioning in parliament revealed the significant change in Dingo protection status earlier this year, described the announcement as a massive sigh of relief.

“I’m extremely relieved to find out the Environment Minister Stephen Dawson has overturned the initial decision to classify wild dingoes in the same category as wild dogs,” Mr Chapple said.

“But let’s not forget that before their reclassification, dingoes had patchy protection across the state.

“Today’s announcement that dingoes won’t be treated as ‘non-native fauna’ leads to the assumption that Minister Dawson and the Government see the value in dingoes.

“If they see the value of Western Australian Dingoes, why not go a step further and grant them even more protection than before.

“The community response to the reclassification earlier this year taught us that the Western Australians deeply care about dingoes and wish to see them thrive.

“Dingoes are an iconic native species and have significant cultural importance to the many indigenous people of Western Australia and Australia more broadly.

“So why not protect them?”

Media contact: Connor Slight – 0422 299 525

WA Greens take Labor to task over Biodiversity Regulations

Thursday, 27th September 2018

The Greens (WA) have labelled the McGowan Labor Government’s Biodiversity Conservation Regulations a cop out that will leave WA exposed.

The regulations implement the previous Barnett Government’s Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 unchanged, a decision that The Greens’ Environment spokesperson Robin Chapple MLC has slammed.

“This is a Labor Government with the Liberal’s environment policies.

“In the last term of Parliament, Labor was against the Barnett Government’s attempt to introduce this legislation, and rightly so. They joined with The Greens, with community groups, with peak bodies. And now, in Government, we have Barnett’s callous disregard for the environment being enacted by Labor.

“This is disappointing, but we have come to expect this from Labor – they are a very different beast in Government to what they promise while in Opposition.

“Despite explicitly stating as an election promise that it would strengthen the Biodiversity Conservation Act, this appears to have been cast aside.

“Crucially what these regulations allow for is the regulated extinction of species, along with a failure to address any of the causes of habitat loss. Native vegetation clearing and logging are just some of the exemptions.

“I think local conservation groups across WA have a right to be extremely concerned with the direction this Government is choosing to go.”

Media Contact: Liam Carter – 0449 151 490

 

State Government must not cave to Shorten’s frack demands

Monday, 11th September 2018

The Greens (WA) have warned the State Government against caving to the wishes of federal Labor leader Bill Shorten to open land up for fracking.

Environment spokesperson Robin Chapple MLC said that there was a real risk that Labor would open up WAs North to fracking due to pressure from corporate lobbyists as well as Bill Shorten.

“Bill Shorten has joined a chorus of big business lobbyists calling on parts of Australia to be opened up to fracking. The NT Labor Government just opened up half the Territory to fracking, and Bill Shorten is now calling on the Victorian Government to reverse its fracking ban.

“The WA Government must resist pressure from lobbyists and their federal colleagues, and commit to a total moratorium on fracking in WA.

“The community will not put up with a halfway measure similar to the NT, and we will not allow groundwater to be poisoned in the name of extra cash for big companies.

“There is no future for fracking in WA. Submissions made by Buru Energy saw that there was no plan to properly manage waste from this toxic industry.

“We simply cannot allow an industry like this to operate if we wish to mitigate climate change and keep to our Paris commitments. Climate change is already affecting WA, and for the State Government to rip open WA for fracking would be tantamount to giving up.

“WA has huge potential for solar energy, which is clean, renewable and affordable. The Government should be investing in renewable energy rather than bowing to the pressure of lobbyists and federal Labor.

“Communities are waiting with baited breath to see the outcome of this scientific inquiry, and to see if the WA Government will commit to protecting the land by banning fracking across WA.

“The Greens are backing the communities, farmers and action groups that are firmly against fracking. We are calling on the State Government to join us and commit to a total ban on fracking.”

Media Contact: Liam Carter – 0449 151 490

 

Government under pressure over dingo declassification decision

Thursday, 30th August 2018

The Labor Government is under increasing pressure from The Greens and environmental groups over its decision to allow dingoes in WA to be considered the same as wild dogs for the purposes of trapping and killing.

Questions in Parliament last night by Greens MP Robin Chapple revealed that a change from native fauna to non-fauna will result in even less protection for dingoes, which will be killed without the need for a license.

While dingoes currently have patchwork protection in some parts of the state, the classification of dingoes as non-fauna will effectively remove even that patchwork protection.

“We are concerned at the prospect of dingoes being shot on sight as one would for a wild dog – they’re not the same and I think that many West Australians would want to be reassured that there are some protections in place.

“The Minister revealed that wild dogs are shot on sight by Department staff even on unused pastoral leases, despite saying that the Department ‘will continue to manage occurrences of the dingo for their cultural and ecological significance on lands that it manages,’” said Mr Chapple.

“For my many concerned constituents, we are asking for dingoes to be treated as distinct from wild dogs, with a management plan so that they are not culled unnecessarily.”

Media contact: Liam Carter – 0449 151 490

 

 

 

Damage to rock art on Burrup ignored by Labor in favour of industry: Greens MP

Thursday, 16th August 2018

Greens MP Robin Chapple has labelled claims by Environment Minister Stephen Dawson that industry and ancient Aboriginal rock art can coexist on the Burrup Peninsula as ridiculous.

Despite dramatically changing PH levels visibly damaging the Aboriginal heritage rock art, the Labor Government continues to blindly insist that increased industrial presence on the Burrup is not having an impact.

“What the Minister’s comments show is that this Labor Government will always put their ties with big business over environmental and heritage concerns,” Greens MP Robin Chapple said.

“The very fact that the Maitland Industrial Estate is gazetted and ready to host industry appears to have been lost on this government, who continue to blindly insist that this rock art is not being damaged despite evidence showing otherwise.

“We can have industry, we can have the benefits that it creates, but there is no good reason for this Government to continue on in the face of reason when there is a perfectly suitable, gazetted industrial estate with environmental approvals on the mainland ready for development.

“Make no mistake: The Greens support World Heritage Listing for the Burrup Peninsula, and the Labor Party’s actions are a roadblock to achieving this important goal.

“Minister Dawson needs to come to the table and show that he wants to help achieve World Heritage Listing for the Burrup. Saying you support it is one thing, but when you are supporting heavy industry that is visibly damaging this incredible heritage, the Government loses credibility in this space.

“This Government has dodged Freedom of Information requests, dodged questions, and is trying to dodge responsibility for their actions – well we won’t let them get away with it.

“These claims that industry can coexist with rock art on the Burrup don’t stack up.”

Media contact: Liam Carter – 0449 151 490

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