Passionate letter-writers have their say on Moyne Shire Council's endorsement of a controversial quarry plan.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Moyne Shire Council meeting on Tuesday was attended by many ratepayers concerned about health effects on nearby residents - the quarry would be much closer than 500 metres from housing which is normally a minimum safety requirement.
Basalt rock contains cancer-causing silica, either in pockets in the rock or uniformly throughout it. Blasting basalt results in wind-blown dust. This would be deposited on the roofs of the nearby houses and end up in drinking water tanks. Wind-borne silica could also be breathed in.
Councillors must protect people against threats to health from council decisions.
Basalt is not a rare commodity. The proponents of the quarry should be able to find a substitute site that is not close to people's houses.
Moyne Shire Council has NOT obtained:
- An independent assessment on the effects on human health by experts on the health effects of carcinogenic dusts or the mental effects of noise from blasting
- An independent environmental impact assessment of the proposed quarry and its effect on river water quality, water flows and wildlife population sustainability.
Without such assessments council cannot make an ethical decision.
Gillian Blair, Warrnambool
Ignorance disturbing
Hats off to Heytesbury District Landcare coordinator Geoff Rollinson who pointed out at the last Moyne Shire Council meeting the proposed Panmure Quarry, was "...flawed from the outset.." because of its proximity to the Hopkins River and Aboriginal-controlled forests.
When will the Indigenous voice, land conservationists and our collective conscience be honestly acknowledged? We continue to struggle to protect the Hopkins River, surrounding land and significant fauna and flora from destructive forces including the Moyne Shire.
The chest-beating and determination to dynamite, scar, scrape and dig up land in and around our precious, shared, culturally and environmentally sensitive environment, reflects a great prevailing ignorance.
It is an anathema that the narrow mindset of a few can willfully ignore the broader community sentiment.
The stupidity of wanton, monumental environmental destruction, especially in light of the Uluru statement from the Heart movement, is disturbing on every level.
Genevieve Grant, Rosebrook
WHAT DO YOU THINK? HAVE YOUR SAY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE ARTICLE
It's 'tunnel vision'
The vote to support the basalt quarry in Panmure at this week's council meeting goes against everything Moyne Shire says it stands for - that is if you believe that the Moyne 2040 Vision Statement is their written commitment to our future!
It is a joke to have this Vision Statement talk about embracing our "cultural and ecological country" while they're making decisions that will result in exactly the opposite.
The council is not active stewards working towards protecting and advancing the environment either.
They appear instead to be intent on destroying the landscape, disrespecting existing Indigenous preferences, and disregarding existing rules related to commercial boundaries along rivers, for the sake of some vague economic benefit.
Any proposal that has to have 30 extra conditions attached in order to make it acceptable is suspect.
It's about time some 21st century thinking went into the decision-making of the five councillors who voted for this proposal to proceed. We need a group to represent us who will ensure the environment, the communities and our responsibilities to protect our shire are treated as having at least equal importance to the economic one.
Penny Iddon, Rosebrook
WHAT DO YOU THINK? HAVE YOUR SAY BELOW
