Odour busters to tackle community concerns around Swanbank

The Palaszczuk Government has established a taskforce to deal with nuisance odours in the Swanbank area.

The Odour Abatement Taskforce, also known as #odourbusters, will operate from a local base at Redbank Plains to crack down on offensive odours and other environmental concerns in Swanbank and surrounding suburbs over the next 12 months.

Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said the Palaszczuk Government was investing $2.5 million in the program to respond to significant community concerns raised through an independent community survey this year.

“With the information received from 1435 local residents, we have moved swiftly to establish a taskforce of 10 specialist environmental officers who will hit the ground from today,” Ms Enoch said.

“The team will be dedicated to investigating and responding to issues raised by the community.”

Ms Enoch said the community survey addressed waste management, air quality and water management issues within the Swanbank industrial area.

“Part of our response will be to introduce new technologies to monitor air, noise and water quality in Ipswich suburbs.

“In addition to on-the-ground investigations, the Odour Abatement Taskforce will intensively examine and review current industry regulation and practice.”

Member for Bundamba Jo-Ann Miller said it was pleasing to have a dedicated taskforce in Ipswich to respond directly to issues raised by the community.

“We are serious about addressing community concerns,” Ms Miller said.

“This Taskforce will be solely devoted to coordinating new efforts and resources around investigating and responding to issues raised by the community through feedback received from the survey.

“In addition to having the Taskforce based in Redbank Plains, people will also be able to call 1300 130 372 and dial 3 to speak to someone about Swanbank.”

Member for Ipswich Jennifer Howard said the Palaszczuk Government will have a strong focus on and interaction with the Swanbank industrial area.

“In the past year, the Department of Environment and Science has received 302 reports of odour from 167 people alleging bad smells from landfill and waste recycling facilities in the Swanbank industrial area,” she said.

“Rest assured, we have some of the highest environmental standards in the world and Queensland has a strong record when it comes to compliance.”

Member for Ipswich West Jim Madden said the Palaszczuk Government ensured there was always strong compliance when it comes to waste management issues.

“Over the last financial year, the state’s environmental regulator carried out more than 7250 compliance checks state-wide to ensure our high environmental standards are met,” he said.

“Of these, 855 compliance checks were conducted in the Ipswich area.

“While the regulator has a strong compliance record, I want to assure the people of Ipswich the level of scrutiny in the local area will be significantly greater as a result of this taskforce.”

Minister Enoch said the Odour Abatement Taskforce, #odourbusters, would also review environmental authority conditions against contemporary standards and proactively engage with industry stakeholders and local communities.

For more information on Swanbank, visit: https://www.qld.gov.au/environment/pollution/monitoring/air-programs/swanbank

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