By Martin Wurt
For over 25 years communities in the inner west have been advocating to get the millions of trucks traveling to and from the Port of Melbourne off our local streets. Governments have promised much and delivered little. Later this year however, the West Gate Tunnel is expected to finally open, much to the relief of communities dealing with years of construction noise and constant road closures.
Whether you oppose or support big road builds like this, for the first time Australia’s busiest container port will have direct freeway access for trucks.
The tunnel comes with a promised 24/7 truck ban on Moore Street, Buckley Street, Somerville Road, Francis Street, Hudsons Road and Blackshaws Road. For residents on these streets this is a real game changer – safer streets and less air and noise pollution. Also, for the first time, the state government has committed to electronic monitoring and enforcement of the bans.
However, there is a very dark cloud hanging over the project. The tunnel’s two ventilation stacks will not be filtered, meaning they are nothing more than tall chimneys pumping out pollution. Residents in Spotswood, South Kingsville, Altona North, Newport, Yarraville, Seddon and Footscray will continue to breathe in cancer causing diesel pollution for decades to come.
In 2017 a state government Inquiry and Advisory Committee assessed the likely impacts of the tunnel build. This Committee heard evidence from some of Australia’s top respiratory health experts who argued for filtration. After weighing up the evidence, the Committee recommended filtration be installed, ready for day one of operations.
Disappointingly the then Planning Minister Richard Wynne, swayed by the EPA’s position, decided that filtration was not needed. This was despite Premier Dan Andrews telling MTAG at the project’s media launch that the cost of filtration would be “a drop in the ocean” of the overall cost.
Maribyrnong has some of Victoria’s worst examples of childhood asthma, heart disease, stroke, lung cancer and pulmonary disease. Maribyrnong City Council even declared a health emergency in 2023 because of noise and air pollution from the trucks. Given existing poor health outcomes, no filtration is a massive missed opportunity to reduce a point source of air pollution in the west.
MTAG is also very concerned that Williamstown Road and Millers Road are not getting truck bans. The Government has decided that it is acceptable to double and triple truck numbers on these streets without even a nighttime curfew to give residents any relief.
MTAG is working with Environmental Justice Australia to pressure the EPA to revisit its earlier decision not to recommend filtration. Much has changed in the intervening years including a new Environment Act designed to mitigate pollution before it becomes a problem. We want the EPA to set up a new inquiry called a Conference of Interested Persons to consider new evidence. The tunnel ventilation stacks, currently under construction, have been designed for retrofitting filtration if it is deemed necessary. We believe the evidence is clear that filtration is necessary now, don’t wait for our health to get worse!
Please visit mtag.org.au to add your voice to our campaign. We have a petition, letter-writing campaign and a video to watch and share.
Martin Wurt is President Maribyrnong Truck Action Group
As if you don’t filter it disgusting