ShUTip.com

Community group ShUT (Shoalhaven Unwanted Tip) is organising a rally outside Parliament House next Wednesday, 21st July at 1.00pm, to draw attention to a proposal for a 100,000 tonne per year non-putrescible waste facility just west of Jervis Bay.  
   The development application has been lodged by a private company and if the proposal goes ahead, it will have a serious impact on an ecologically sensitive, rural/residential area.  A record number of submissions against the proposal has been received by Shoalhaven City Council, which is now finalising its report for the Joint Regional Planning Panel, which will decide the matter.  Objections to the proposal are environmental, social and economic. It will involve toxic leachate storage in the Jervis Bay and St Georges Basin catchment, which is currently free of any polluting industry.  Because over 95% of the waste delivered to the site will be from outside the Shoalhaven area, heavy vehicle movements will increase on an already dangerous and inadequate Princes Highway. There is no transport infrastructure in place to safely deliver waste to the site from distant locations and it is environmentally unsustainable. ShUT is concerned about future expansion of the facility, committee member Peter Allison warns: “there is almost 300 hectares of land at the site…once it is approved, what’s to stop this thing  evolving into another Lucas Heights?”  A toxic waste facility is incompatible and out of harmony with the existing land use of single residential dwellings on small allotments and acreages.  A number of residential developments adjacent and near the proposed tip site have been recently approved or are in the application stage.
   According to the most recent figures from the Tourism Research Australia, tourism revenue for the Shoalhaven region increased by $85 million to over $604 million last year. Mr Dave Reynolds, President of Jervis Bay Tourism says that the importance of this income flowing through the local economy cannot be overstated: “ the tourism industry is a big employer and the most significant industry in this region…. a massive landfill in the catchment of Jervis Bay and St Georges Basin will have a huge effect on tourism”.    Kate Broadhurst of Huskisson B & B agrees and says that as custodians of such a unique and beautiful area we have a responsibility to keep it in good shape, not only from an environmental point of view, but as an income generating asset;  “ a visit to the Shoalhaven, and particularly the Jervis Bay area, offers one of the world’s great natural experiences: pure and clean water, white sand, protected marine life and world famous National Parks….why you would risk jeopardising our reputation as a unique environmental destination approving a massive waste dump I have no idea.”
   The NSW Dept of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) have recently turned from not supporting the proposal to providing “general terms of approval” so the tip is now only one step from being a reality.
   ShUT hopes that the rally will create wider public opinion against the tip, particularly among the thousands of Sydney people who have a deep affection for the beautiful Jervis Bay area. The rally will also serve to highlight  anomalous State planning laws, which take decisions on high impact developments out of the hands of accountable elected representatives. Speakers from all political persuasions have been invited, including Minister for Planning, Infrastructure and Lands, Tony Kelly and Shadow Minister, Brad Hazzard….Greens MLC Dr John Kaye….Member for South Coast, Shelley Hancock and former Member for South Coast, John Hatton.  Prior to the Sydney rally, a delegation from ShUT will meet with Opposition leader Barry O’Farrell at 10 am, W.A. Lang Park, Cliff Road, Wollongong.

Contact:  John Levett, ShUT Media Spokesperson     Ph: 4443-4941 or 0418 469 094    or go to
www.shutip.com