Dig deeper on Quarry - Pakenham Gazette Letter

Regarding the recent article concerning the proposed Bunyip North Quarry (Page 11, Gazette, 30 May).

The article noted a response from Hanson listing the numerous interactions between the community and Hanson, somehow suggesting they were looking after the interests of the community, but I am afraid this is quite untrue and should be treated as a joke – they are certainly not working in the interests of the community.

It is true that there have been some public days and meetings about the quarry, but it is not just the number of times that engagement occurs it is entirely about what was exchanged at each engagement - that is the important fact!

In every event staged by Hanson there has not been any real information provided and when questions are put the answer is simply and repeatedly made to ‘wait and see’.

Well the community is sick and tired of waiting for answers. Hanson came into the area deceptively calling themselves a pastoral company and buying the grazing property over 12 years ago. Then they announced their intention to build the biggest granite quarry in Victoria, larger than Melbourne’s CBD, and plan to operate it for over 100 years running 500 trucks per day into Melbourne.

What Hanson fails to mention about all the engagement that has been held with the public and with local residents, is the fact that there is absolutely no support for their proposal – a fact that needs to be continually reminded to Hanson. They totally ignore the concerns of the community and one of the public meetings they

had the gall to suggest that ‘there were no show-stoppers to their proposal’ and if we (the community) did not like it then we would have to ‘suck it up’ These are direct quotes from Hanson’s senior management and go to the heart of the issue – Hanson does not care about the community or the environment and they will not let their profit-driven project be halted by any form of community opposition.

Hanson’s proposed location is possibly the worst imaginable, right in the middle of residents, farms and native bushland. It is at the foot of Mount Cannibal and cuts through vital bio-links and wildlife corridors and it would bring permanent damage to the ecology of the area.

Photo: Courtesy of Katie Turnbull Images