Port Botany passes environmental audit but Greens call for truck movements to be slashed
August 26, 2009
The Greens have attacked the reliability of a compulsory environmental audit carried out on Port Botany and say that until the number of trucks servicing the facility are cut, the port cannot claim to be environmentally friendly.
The claims come a day after New South Wales Minister for Ports Joe Tripodi announced the facility had passed its first year compulsory environmental audit.
According to Tripodi the port exceeded all compliance requirements for a raft of environmental management issues.
“The $1 billion Port Botany Terminal is into its second year, this tick of approval shows significant progress has been achieved without any major impact on the local environment,” Tripodi says.
The Greens however say a combination of ongoing dredging and large truck loads means the fact in Tripodi’s statements are hard to believe.
“Not surprisingly, Mr Tripodi forgot to mention [in his statement] the impact that increased truck movements as a result of [port] expansion will have on the environment and on residents who will be subject to 24 hour a day truck movements,” Greens Port Spokesperson Lee Rhiannon says.
“The Government’s target of moving 40 percent of freight from Port Botany by rail feels more like the premise of a good novel than a factual account.”