Blaxland tip is struggling to cope with waste from the October bushfires with Blue Mountains mayor Mark Greenhill hoping new government funding will relieve the growing pressure.
“In the immediate aftermath of the fires I announced that the Blaxland tip would be free to those impacted. At that time I had expected that an announcement of government support would be near at hand. This is a small, regional facility and it is beginning to bend under the strain,” he said.
“It is now five weeks since the fires and I am keen to see the government’s block clearing begin quickly so that we can take pressure off our tip and move the waste out of the Mountains,” he said.
Mark Richardson of Winmalee business On-Line Excavations was a victim of confusion over the tip’s capacity last Friday when he was told to take bushfire-damaged waste to Kemps Creek after leaving previous loads at Blaxland just the same day.
“To change the goal posts half way through is a bit unfair,” he said.
In a letter in today’s Gazette, Clr Greenhill said the council will keep taking small amounts of uncontaminated fire waste for free in the short term at Blaxland.
“Working with [bushfire recovery co-ordinator] Phil Koperberg, we will seek to make arrangements in the coming days for large deliveries at other landfill facilities,” he said.
The management of bushfire-related waste saw council welcome the announcement last Thursday of additional government funding for the bushfire clean-up.
Clr Greenhill welcomed the “significant funding” announced by NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, treasurer Mike Baird and Blue Mountains MP Roza Sage after he had attacked the government for its slow response in last week’s Gazette.
While the government has not nominated an amount, it is understood the commitment may be worth up to $10 million. It is provided under the jointly funded federal-NSW Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements.
“To assist, the NSW Government will work with insurers and fund the clean-up and removal of all bushfire debris, including the disposal of asbestos contaminated material from destroyed homes,” said Mr O’Farrell.
“The NSW Government is determined to help the Blue Mountains community which is undertaking the daunting and heartbreaking task of rebuilding after these fires.”
He said the cost of cleaning-up bushfire debris from a site would not be deducted from a resident’s insurance payout.
Clr Greenhill said the funding announcement was the “much-needed missing link at this critical stage of bushfire recovery and rebuild”.
Labor Senator Doug Cameron, who had also attacked the state and federal governments for not responding quickly enough to the recovery effort, welcomed the announcement which he said was “long overdue”.
“The assistance being offered by the New South Wales government is a victory for common sense,” he said.
