By David Ettershank MP
Western Metro MP David Ettershank says he’s elated that the multinational freight company Pacific National has decided against building a $5 billion freight terminal on a green corridor prized by western Melbourne residents.
The Legalise Cannabis MP attended the Little River community protest on Saturday, August 24, to oppose the hub that would have devastated native grasslands and rare animals on Melbourne’s edge.
“This is a tangible sign of what can be achieved when communities join together to protect the environment and their town or neighbourhood,” he said.
Allan government must act to protect Green Wedges
Mr Ettershank is now calling on the Allan Government to do more to secure Melbourne’s 12 green wedge zones, set aside by government in the 1970s as a buffer between Melbourne and regional Victoria to clean the air and shield farms from city contaminants.
“The land in Melbourne’s west is not a dumping ground for toxic chemicals nor is it the natural home of hazardous industries,” he said.
“We call on the Victorian government to meet the challenge of acquiring, rehabilitating and preserving sites, like the Little River Precinct.”
Mr Ettershank said the Little River Precinct should be added into the Greater Western Grasslands Reserve.
“The state Government committed to establishing a 15,000h Western Grassland Reserve under the Melbourne Strategic Assessment (Environment Protection Mitigation Levy) Act 2020, and this was endorsed by the Commonwealth,” he said/
“The state government is falling well short of the 15,000h target, but the Little River site would be a wonderful addition to the Western Grassland Reserve.”
Little River banned
Mr Ettershank said the proposed freight hub would have fed up to 1500 trucks per day from the freight hub through the western suburbs of Melbourne.
“That hub which would have wiped out 75 football fields of rare volcanic plain grassland and risked contaminating a river system feeding into Ramsar wetlands. This is a win for the environment and a victory for commonsense,” he said.
“Residents have photographed the endangered Growling Grass Frog in Little River, and critically endangered Golden Sun Moths on neighbouring land. Fat-tailed Dunnarts also live nearby.”
Little River Action Group President Adrian Hamilton said he was delighted that Pacific National was withdrawing an application for planning and environmental approvals with state government agencies.
“We still maintain that this site is completely inappropriate as a freight terminal site for a variety of reasons,” Mr Hamilton said. “The site has a rich ecosystem that is worth protecting. It must remain a Green Wedge for western Melbourne.”
In a statement to The Age Pacific National said it made the decision ‘given the changed timeline for associated freight and infrastructure projects and broader economic factors’.
Pacific National confirmed that ‘the business will continue to assess alternative terminal site options as they emerge to support efficient freight transport connectivity’.
David Ettershank is the Member for Western Metropolitan Region. He can be contacted by phone (03) 9317 5900 and email david.ettershank@parliament.vic.gov.au
