By Corey Everitt
A motion has been passed in the council calling for the State Government to address illegal rubbish dumping in Cardinia Shire.
The motion, put forward at the Cardinia Shire Council meeting on Monday 17 July, calls attention to the specific site on a stretch of Princes Highway between the intersections Army Road and Windemere Boulevard, as well as the many spots along Princes Hwy where rubbish is dumped regularly.
It is directed to the Department of Transport and Planning (DOTP), calling for both the immediate removal of dumped rubbish at the site mentioned and for an overall litter management plan to be developed for Cardinia’s roads.
While also calling for a review into the sites where the DOTP designates the stockpiling of construction material along Princes Highway, where many of the illegal rubbish dumping occurs.
Councillor for Pakenham Hills Ward Jack Korwazik moved the motion and said a “result in this space was long overdue.“
“There has been a lot of internal advocacy to the DOTP to have these issues addressed and they haven’t responded in manner that we would expect.
“There are many DOTP or former VicRoads storage areas along the Princes Highway through out Cardinia Shire, some of these include; in Officer near McMullen Road on the other side of the weighbridge not far from where we are meeting tonight; opposite Army Road near the Star News building and running along side Racecourse Road North; the area this motion mentions just south of Murphy Road before Windemere Boulevard; and the start of Bessie Creek Road near the roundabout in Nar Nar Goon, there are many others.
“These areas have extremely poor amenity levels associated with them, they’re ugly to look at and they attract huge amounts of dumped rubbish, they also attract commercial dumping with fill from construction sites being dumped illegally.
“It addition, they seem to act as a beacon for anti-social behaviour, it all goes to a range of issues.
“When you combine that with the poor maintenance levels we receive from DOTP in Cardinia Shire it results in poor outcomes for our community.“
“With councillor’s support we will write to the relevant ministers and departments bringing this issue to the fore and hopefully resulting in proper oversight being executed in this space.“
The motion was seconded by Councillor Graeme Moore and was passed by council unanimously.
