Trek the Trails participants enjoyed beautiful weather this year.  Save Perth Hills attended the fair at the end of the trail and distributed free Save Perth's Hills car stickers.  If you received one, please make sure it finds it's way onto the rear window of your car.  Consider it a rolling petition. And if you feel strongy about preserving the Hills, contact your local Member of Parliament

The Perth Hills Planning Bill is designed to address the Hills biggest issues such as inappropriate development, destructive quarrying, mining and logging, and the introduction of toxic incinerators at waste tips.
 
Currently the Hills are governed by 7 separate cities and shires, each with different sensibilities and agendas. The Bill would unify the Hills into a Hills Region at a level above local government. Development would be reviewed by a committee of appointed experts applying a set of principles that would preserve current social and economic institutions, and the environment. The committee’s recommendations would have to be addressed by state and local
government. 

The Bill is up for debate in State Parliament this year.  Please contact your local member and let them know you support the Bill. Without public pressure, the Bill will not pass.  The State election is in March, the MPs will listen.

To read the actual text of the bill, click the Planning Bill drop down at the top of this page.

Save Perth Hills is in favour of the Anaerobic Digestion Option, but opposed to the Gasification option.
 
We have participated in the consultation process, including Red Hill Alliance meetings, EMRC Council meetings and EMRC seminar workshops.   We have also done research on our own. We feel we have a good understanding on the issues, which we will not rehash in this submission.

We support Anaerobic Digestion. It is the simplest, best, cheapest solution.  It will eliminate 70% of the gross tonnage of input waste with no environmental impact.  It will produce energy and fertilizer. It is safe, proven technology with little
liability.

Gasification involves burning waste, which produces PCB’s Dioxins, heavy metals, etc. Though the proposed plant will have a filtration system, no filtration system can work at 100% efficiency, 100% of the time.   Even if it did, tonnes
of concentrated filtrated toxic solids would go into the RED Hill landfill which is already leaking. This landfill is located upstream of the Swan Valley agricultural area and the Swan River.

If the filtration system on the exhaust stack doesn’t work at 100% efficiency 100% of the time, the toxins that get by will be spread by the daily morning easterly winds over the metro area, then in the afternoon, will be spread back toward the hills by the afternoon westerlies. Hundreds of thousands of residents will be affected. 
 
If this scheme fails to operate at environmental standards, as many have worldwide, the results will be a public health disaster. And when the plant is shut down, it will create a financial disaster for the cities and shires that will have to cover the cost.  Though financial issues aren’t part of the EPA’s concern, what will be a concern is that the waste processing capability of a bankrupt EMRC will be compromised.

Save Perth Hills feel that the 20% additional tonnage that would be processed by building a gasification systeinstead of an Anaerobic Digestion system is not worth the risk.

"The Liberal National Government is committed to ensuring there is a balance between responsible economic activity and sustainable environmental outcomes. We will be rightly judged on our record. The decision just this month to reject a proposal to build a coal mine near Margaret River demonstrates this. The unique environmental, viticultural and tourism values of the region cannot be compromised, and the Government will implement the most stringent planning framework possible to protect it from all forms of high impact mining."

We at Save Perth Hills infer that these same values should stand for the Perth Hills Region, and the best way to do that is for the Premier to support the Perth Hills Planning Bill.