Hobsons Bay City Council has today repeated its call for pollution filters to be added to West Gate Tunnel vents, in the interests of the health of residents impacted by harmful tunnel emissions.
At its first ordinary meeting of the new term, Deputy Mayor and Altona North Ward Councillor, Rayane Hawli, moved a motion to reaffirm Council’s position that the Victorian Government must install filtration stacks on the tunnel to protect the health and wellbeing of Hobsons Bay residents.
The Council said it will write to State Government authorities, including various Ministers, as well as the EPA, seeking that new community consultation be conducted in relation to air
pollution from the tunnel.
“Council remains concerned that pollution filters will not be included on the tunnel’s twin
vents, believing they are necessary for the health of nearby residents,” it said in a statement.
“This has been the position of Council since 2017 when the West Gate Tunnel Project’s
Inquiry and Advisory Committee recommended to the state planning minister that
ventilation filtration be fitted to reduce air pollution emissions.”
The Victorian Government decided filtration would be retrofitted only if monitoring
showed that air pollutants reached undefined ‘trigger’ levels, the Council says.
For many years Council has advocated for pollution filters to be fitted on the vents to reduce the impact of pollution from the tunnel on the surrounding community, said Mayor, Daria Kellander.
“Council has been a strong advocate for filtration of tunnel emissions from the vents on the West Gate Tunnel for several years,” she said.
“Air quality is an important issue for us in the inner west. We have the same right to breathe clean air as people in other parts of Melbourne, and the introduction of emission filters in tunnel vents is crucial in reducing the impact of pollution on our community.
“I am perplexed to see how anyone can think taking shortcuts about such a critical issue
as community health would be accepted.
“It’s simply not good enough. We will continue to fight to ensure our community’s health
is not overlooked just to save some money.”
Councillor Hawli confirmed she had been contacted by many community members who were “extremely concerned” about the impact on their families.
“The West Gate Tunnel project must take into account strong community concern about the safety of the air we will breathe if these vents do not have proper filters,” said Cr Hawli.
“The people of Hobsons Bay have the same right to clean air as those living in other parts of Melbourne.
“Why should people living in the West be an increased risk of heart and lung diseases simply because they live near the freeway? We must not scrimp on our community’s
health and wellbeing.”
Source: Inside Local Government
