Soon-to-be Ipswich mayor Teresa Harding said waste management was likely to be high on the new council’s agenda over coming weeks and months.
“This latest announcement from the State Government allows us to discuss policies with a degree of certainty for the immediate future,” Ms Harding said.
The Queensland Government announced on Friday that waste protections in Ipswich that were due to expire in the next week have been extended for a further two years.
These measures will maintain the State Government’s temporary local planning instrument (TLPI) that covers the Swanbank/New Chum areas, and Ipswich City Council’s TLPI for the Ebenezer/Willowbank/Jeebropilly areas.
Ms Harding said the new council will be keen to consult with the public about waste management issues and to receive community feedback.
“The TLPIs provide the council and the community with a safety net when attempting to ensure a safe and healthy environment for residents and ratepayers, so this is a positive step,” she said.
“Once we’re formally declared and sworn in, I look forward to discussing a positive waste management plan under advice from people around me who have a high level of expertise. I’ll then be discussing this advice with new members of council.”
Member elect for Bundamba Lance McCallum said the TLPIs will provide more certainty to the Ipswich community.
“The existing TLPIs are effective, so it’s vital we continue to regulate what can and cannot occur in these areas,” Mr McCallum said.
“I know how important the issue of waste management is to our community, which is why I got straight onto the Planning Minister this week to ensure existing protections were extended.
“The TLPIs continue the introduction of the 750-metre buffer zone from existing, approved or planned residential areas.
“They also ensure elements of council’s current planning scheme relating to waste activities in these areas remain suspended while council finalise a new planning scheme.”
Minister for Planning Cameron Dick said the TLPIs will give the Ipswich community and the development industry certainty when it comes to waste in Ipswich.
“The Queensland Government will work closely with the new Ipswich City Council to have the provisions incorporated into its updated planning scheme,” Mr Dick said.
“This will give permanent effect to the waste protections we’ve put in place.”
The TLPIs will be in place for up to two years, during which time council is expected to have a new planning scheme in place to incorporate the provisions of the TLPIs.
At the last full council meeting on 24 March before the return of elected representation, interim administrator Steve Greenwood passed a two-year extension on TLPI 2, which was set to expire next month.
General Manager of Planning and Regulatory Services Peter Tabulo said the minister had recently moved to formalise the extension of the government’s TLPI 1 and council’s TLPI 2 because of council being in caretaker mode ahead of the local government elections.
TLPI 2 regulates waste activity uses in the Ebenezer/Willowbank/Jeebropilly area.
Both 1 and 2 ensure that the regionally significant economic area of Swanbank/New Chum and Ebenezer/Willowbank/Jeebropilly are appropriately regulated to protect existing, approved or planned residential and other sensitive receiving land uses from adverse impacts associated with waste activity uses.
“The content of both TlPIs is the same, there is no changing of any details in any way. This is just procedural … to ensure the continuation of the current regulatory framework during the caretaker period for local government elections and into the initial period of the new council administration,” Mr Tabulo said.
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Something really needs to be done about the stench emanating from these waste sites, it had stopped for a long time but lately it is back every time there is a breeze from that direction and it is sickening. We pay our rates and this is what we get.