The Mayor of Ipswich says she is concerned the use of ministerial powers to "call-in" a controversial plan for a landfill and recycling centre west of the city would set a precedent for other projects.
In September last year, Ipswich City Council voted to refuse the application from Wanless for a landfill which would be developed alongside a proposed recycling park at a disused coal mine at Ebenezer, west of Ipswich.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Local Government and Planning, Steven Miles, on Thursday gave notice that he would "call in" the project to "reassess and re-decide" the development application.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said the council voted against the proposal on recommendations by planning officers and an independent decision review panel.
"We only approved the recycling [facility] and we refused the landfill and the partial rehabilitation of the mining void based on recommendations of the independent experts," she said.
The proposal anticipated 1,000,000 tonnes of waste would be processed at the facility every year, with more than 550,000 tonnes ending up in landfill at the site every year.
Wanless lodged an appeal with the Planning and Environment Court in October, 2021, but the "call-in" now supersedes that.
"It was quite clear that the application did not address how the lining of the landfill was going to treat the underlying water table. There were a lot of deficiencies in that application and that was part of the reason why it was rejected," she said.
Decision of community 'ignored'
The ministerial powers are designed to be used in exceptional circumstances for projects of state significance.
The Mayor said on three occasions in the past the council had written to the Planning Minister to request applications for other landfills which had progressed to the Planning and Environment Court to be "called in" and reconsidered.
She said on all three occasions, the council was told the projects were not of state significance and would not be called in.
"We were told quite specifically that they weren't big enough to be considered a state matter. The Ipswich City Council is disappointed with the state government's decision to call in the Wanless proposal.
"Council has already thoroughly assessed this proposal when it made its original decision, we even went to the lengths of having an independent decision review panel come in and thoroughly assess it.
"It's very disappointing that the decision of council and the decision of the community is being ignored."
She said the council was now powerless but would be putting a submission forward on behalf of the community.
"I do encourage residents to become involved. If they don't, this could happen," she said.
'We don't want any more landfills in our backyard'
Chad Hayes, president of the Willowbank Area Residents Group, said the community has lodged various submissions against the proposal.
"There was a public display and all that sort of stuff with all the designs and information on it, except for the landfill component," he said.
"We need to emphasise that the Willowbank community are all for recycling, but we don't want any more landfills in our backyard."
He said community members who had "put up with mining in their backyard for 30 years" were "just about in tears" at the possibility that a landfill site could be established at the discretion of the minister.
He said the project would also have major implications for traffic congestion close to RAAF Base at Amberley.
He said since the site was earmarked as an industrial zone by the Queensland government there had been very little consultation with the community.
"They are pushing for jobs and all that sort of stuff but are there better facilities that can actually accommodate more jobs in this industrial area that they have proposed," he said.
"This is a long-term project that they've been planning for a long time, but they haven't actually kept the community informed of what's really going on or what their future plans for our residential and regional area are out here."
In a statement, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the call confirms that there were several state interests, including economic, environmental, and regional planning interests.
"The call-in requires Wanless to demonstrate its facility will support the state's goal of reducing waste to landfill and increasing reuse and recycling and that the project can only be economically viable if all elements of the facility are approved," he said.
"The call-in will allow the project to be considered in light of the Council of Mayors SEQ Waste Management Plan 2021, finalisation of the review of the waste levy, and the temporary local planning instrument."
He said he had received detailed advice from the Planning Department.
LNP Member for the Scenic Rim Jon Krause said there should be no approvals of landfill facilities until the Cunningham Highway at Willowbank was upgraded.
"We can't forget there's already their other dump proposal in the Planning and Environment Court, which means there could be three new dumps in the coming years but there is still no solid plan to upgrade the Cunningham Highway at the Amberley interchange," he said.
"My view is what I've said to the Minister, if this is going to be called in, they should stick to the decision of the Ipswich City Council, which was to approve the recycling element of Wanless's proposal and reject the rest."
