Quarry quandary

By Callan Date
THE long running battle over the Mt Shamrock quarry in Pakenham Upper now rests in the hands of the local Wurrundjeri tribe after the decision was made last week to approve the quarry extension.
Planning Minister Rob Hulls has recommended that the Readymix quarry be extended but only on the provision that the traditional custodians of the land approve a consent to disturb motion.
But chairman of the Save the Valley group Neville Bassett has labelled the decision as pig headed and believes thousands of aboriginal artefacts will be destroyed if the extension goes ahead.
Mr Hulls conclusion was made after the recent release of the Environmental Effects Statement evaluated several aspects of the proposed quarry extension, including the impact on local wildlife and land stability.
Claire Miller, spokeswoman for Mr Hulls, said the minister had sent a letter to both Cardinia council and Readymix, recommending the extension of the quarry, but said that the final decision still rests with the traditional owners.
“The minister recommends extending the quarry, however he will not be issuing a planning permit until the proponents get consent from the traditional owners, the Wurrundjeri people,” Ms Miller said.
The proposed extension of the quarry is being sought so that a further 20 million tonnes of basalt can be extracted from the Pakenham Upper site over the next 20 years.
Interim CEO of the Wurrundjeri Land and Compensation Cultural Heritage Council Megan Goulding said that the Wurrundjeri people would soon meet to discuss the Environmental Effects Statement and their course of action.
“Since the recommendations have been handed down the ball is basically in our court and the elders will be meeting in the near future to plan their response,” Ms Goulding said.
She said that at this stage they are holding off on making a final decision and wanted to take into account all the different circumstances surrounding the proposed extension of the quarry.
“It is obviously such a big issue and the Wurrundjeri people don’t want to rush any decision that is made.”
Mr Bassett said the government’s decision was pig headed and suggested they had taken a short sighted view on the overall issue.
“We are very disappointed in the findings due to the fact it has failed to take into account numerous points put forward by our group,” he said.
Mr Bassett said the main concern was the potential disturbance of a sacred aboriginal artefact site that will be destroyed if the extension of the quarry goes ahead.
“We are hopeful that the Wurrundjeri people deny this consent to disturb application as the area is one of the most significant aboriginal artefact sites found in the region.
Mr Bassett said that the ancient site most probably contained thousands of artefacts and it is unique due to the fact that it is found on top of a hill.
“They have already located a couple of hundred pieces of aboriginal history there and this has only been discovered by digging a short distance into the earth.”
Readymix quarry planning and development manager Leigh Street said the company was pleased the minister had decided the extension should go ahead and that Readymix would work closely with the Wurrundjeri Land Council.
“The Environment Effects Statement (EES) process is a very rigorous assessment of the potential environmental impacts and the EES panel and the minister believe the quarry extension could proceed in an environmental acceptable manner,” Mr Street said.
He also added that the extension of the quarry would be a great economic boost for the region and would also ensure enough material would be available for the construction of roads in the area.
“The quarry extension will secure long term economic certainty for an important industry in the region and will ensure the availability of high quality stone for construction,” he said.