CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr GILES (Scullin—Minister for Skills and Training) (09:33): Wollert is a high-growth community in the north of the Scullin electorate. It's forecast to welcome around 20,000 new residents over the next decade. It's a place where families are building their dream homes and forming communities right now.

This is why I'm so deeply concerned by the proposal to build a large waste-to-energy incinerator there, effectively right in the backyard of these family homes and local businesses. So I stand here to make it very clear that I join with concerned locals in saying that this is a proposal that simply does not stack up on any basis whatsoever. The suburb is already grappling right now with issues like illegal rubbish dumping and soil contamination.

Against a backdrop like this, the plan to import an additional 760,000 tonnes of waste into the area raises deep anxiety amongst residents that is quite understandable. So, too, does the proposal to burn this waste, including significant amounts of plastics and other landfill materials, producing hazardous by-products that carry the potential to cause harm to surrounding communities.

These emissions, these by-products, pose serious risks to air, water and soil quality and could have lasting environmental and social effects for those communities. In this regard, I want to give a big shout-out to the NO Northern Incinerator Wollert group, a dedicated community movement driven by genuine concern for the health and wellbeing of local residents and for the climate.

Communities in Melbourne's northern suburbs deserve thoughtful, sustainable planning, not decisions that place their amenity, health and environment at risk. This simply cannot proceed. Last month I attended Seeds for Culture—an absolutely fantastic community event in my electorate—to launch Lalor Tennis Club's new Indigenous garden, which is absolutely beautiful and a wonderful community asset.

This was a vibrant celebration of Indigenous culture, complete with a smoking ceremony, live dance, didgeridoo performances and bush tucker planting sessions that I didn't completely ruin! This was developed by Cultural Gardens, an amazing group supported by the City of Whittlesea and a really welcome addition to the community. It represents a hub where culture, sport and community can all intersect, fostering an environment which promotes sporting and social participation.

But it's also a place where community can come and reconnect to country, sharing in teachings from First Nations Australians about Indigenous life and culture. It's an asset the whole community should be proud of, and I look forward to seeing it enjoyed and valued for many years to come. I acknowledge, in particular, Ian Goolagong, former president of the club, who came back from New South Wales to play a really significant part in the event—a pretty significant tennis-playing family there!—and also Liz, Dein and Rose, leaders of the committee, who've done such an amazing job in fostering inclusion.

Lastly, I'll give a shout-out to an old friend of mine, Dave Gregg, who came back from western Victoria with his sons to play a part in something that he had a really big connection to.