See minutes from the Special Electors Meeting http://www.york.wa.gov.au/council/council_meetings/minutes/2013minutes/specialelectorsmeeting/
Special Electors’
Meeting
February 11th
6.30pm
York Town Hall
There will be a public
meeting on Monday, February 11th at the York Town Hall at 6.30 pm. It
is advertised as an ‘Electors Meeting”, but everyone is invited. The format of
the meeting is still being finalised, as it depends on which invited speakers
are available. There will be some experts in the field of landfill and maybe
some high ranking politicians from all sides of the political spectrum. There
will be ample opportunity for the public to ask questions.
The meeting will be in two
halves, firstly the Special Elector’s Meeting. This part will provide the
opportunity of electors to send a clear message to the York Shire Council.
Motions passed at this meeting will be considered by the York Council at its
next meeting. One motion being considered is as follows: “That the York Shire
Council does everything in its power to avoid the establishment of a noxious
industry catering for metropolitan landfill within the York Shire.” If you like
to have any input in the wording, please get back to us.
The second motion being
considered is as follows: That the York Shire Council puts it full support
behind the “York Proposition”.
So, what is the York
Proposition? This is the Plan B, we have mentioned before. Full copy of the text
is attached, but the short story is this. The Coalition did realise early on
that to oppose this proposed landfill in our backyard was only part of the
dilemma of landfill. Because of sustained neglect on the part of successive
Western Australian Governments, the question of what to do with the metropolitan
waste stream is now reaching crisis point. New landfill sites of metro rubbish
are being parachuted into Darling Range communities. We think that the solution
lies in part with an approach as outlined in the “York
Proposition”.
The York Proposition states:
‘That within the first 100 days of the opening of the
new parliament, the next government of Western Australia, with cross-party
support, will carry out the following actions.
A.
Commission a feasibility study into
the establishment of one or more waste disposal plants in the metropolitan area.
This plant will process and/or recycle the total metropolitan waste stream not
already treated and thus alleviate the need for any landfill sites in country
areas.
B.
In tandem with section A, the government will
commission a study designed to identify a single landfill site to cater
for all metropolitan waste that needs to go to landfill, subject to the
following conditions:
1. The site should be
in a low rainfall area.
2. It should be away
from a population centre.
3. It should be on land already
cleared.
4. Choice of a site must take into account local
seismic activity.
5. The site should be large enough to provide sufficient waste disposal facilities for the next three generations.
6. All organic waste
should be processed and used as a soil improver.
7. Metropolitan waste should be transported to the
site exclusively by rail.
(End of Proposition)
The subject of the Special Electors Meeting is “Landfill
in the Wheatbelt” and debate must be restricted to that subject, for the first
part of the meeting. While York Shire Councillors will be at the meeting, they
are not prepared to be questioned on the “Allawuna” proposals. They need to keep
their opinions to themselves until SITA puts an official proposal to
them.
It would be advantageous to close the “Special Meeting”
if possible at 8pm so in the second half, an hour or so could be spend on other
issues. Perhaps debate about the “York Proposition” and maybe endorsement of the
strategy by well known WA people, etc, we are still working at it. But what
happens at the meeting will be largely up to the people attending. While the
Coalition is laying the ground work, what happens on the night will be in the
hands of those attending. The first half will be run by the Shire, the second
half by the Coalition.
For a change of subject, the York Landfill Action
Coalition does now have an incorporated home. The organisation is called “Avon
Valley Residents Association Inc” (AVRA). The inaugural AGM will be held on
Friday February 1st at 7pm at the Sandalwood Yards in York. The aims
of the organisation are varied and wide ranging, so it can be used for just
about anything that benefits Avon Valley communities. You are most welcome to
attend, especially if you can offer expertise in the running of this landfill
matter. We are looking for some fresh faces on the committee.
The Coalition is preparing to publish the “York
Proposition” on a website at www.wawaste.com.au We are going to need a core of
keen people who can assist us in a letter writing campaign (email) to newspapers
all over the state. We need a coordinated campaign to target the various media
outlets. If you are interested please contact us so we can form a little group
that can take charge of it (we have a few volunteers already). A lot of work has
already been done by individuals, but a degree of coordination can make it more
efficient. Contact: yorklandfill@gmail.com if you can help.
Plan B once on the website, calls for a state wide
distribution of emails inviting people to visit our website, in order to contact
their local candidates. If you are a member of an organisation that has an email
data base, let us know, so we can invite the organisation to become a sponsoring
partner. If you have any good ideas that can assist our campaign, please contact
us.
There is a facebook conversation
going at https://www.facebook.com/Stop40YearsOfPerthRubbishInYork
Also attached is the
Coalitions EPA referral document. It gives the reasons why the Coalition thinks
the Allawuna proposal is a bad idea.