IPSWICH’s leading campaign group against toxic dumps says the Environment Department has continually failed locals in the fight for compliant waste companies.

Ipswich Residents Against a Toxic Environment (IRATE) has presented a damning assessment to the current health inquiry into the health effects of odours from the Ipswich waste industry.

The IRATE submission said that despite the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) possessing many years of reports on odours, dust, waterway contamination, and smoke generation by the waste industry, the department had not tracked the reports of health issues but instead focused on “public relations” with exercises such as the Odour Abatement Taskforce.

IRATE said more than 25,000 reports had been provided to DETSI but that the department had obfuscated the process by changing reporting records, meaning it was now unclear to the public the totality of reports received.

“Many people have given up reporting issues as there is no apparent action taken by DETSI to resolve these issues,” the submission read.

“Others have simply moved out of the neighbourhood, whether by selling or moving when rental terms expired.”

IRATE questioned why former Chief Health Officer (Dr Gerrard) two years ago apparently denied the need for such an inquiry.

IRATE later asked: “Has DETSI provided a detailed, summarised report of all the reports of health issues reported to it, to ensure inquiry staff are aware of the magnitude of the problem?

“Will it discount socio-economic factors for lung cancer statistics and focus on what other issues have created these statistics?”

IRATE asked to know if DETSI odour monitoring would concentrate only on “short term” health effects and why the department had not enforced the conditions of many Environmental Authorities, Environmental Protection Orders with fines.

“This whole issue is a result of DETSI (and its predecessors) failing not only in its duty to protect the environment but also through its duty to protect the health and amenity of Ipswich residents despite years, and tens of thousands, of direct complaints,” IRATE stated.

“DETSI has told IRATE on many occasions ‘we are not here to shut down industry’, ‘we are here to work with industry to have compliance’.

“DETSI often has not fully addressed non-compliant issues and agreed ‘milestones’ were never enforced.

“And with ongoing non-compliance, there were no financial penalties.

“If members of the public do not pay fines, their licence is revoked, but with the waste industry, DETSI has taken the road of anything goes.

“It is important that this inquiry does not just review the health issues reported but also considers the accumulated data of health effects that is held in the DETSI database of complaints.”

However, speaking with The Tribune last week, Dr Gerrard said it would be inappropriate to speculate on his findings so far as the inquiry remained ongoing.

He said that the inquiry was “progressing well”.

“We are on track to meet the June 30 deadline and to deliver a report as per the Terms of Reference,” Dr Gerrard said.

“The final report will determine whether odour from Swanbank and New Chum Industrial Estates has impacted the health of residents and make recommendations.

“Last week, I met with individual residents to discuss their health impacts related to the odours.”

A call for submissions from the public is now open online and closes on March 31.

Dr Gerrard said residents with health effects related to odours should visit their GP and make a submission to the inquiry at https://shorturl.at/OkOSh