MARCH 17, 2020 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
Club ditches sponsor over toxic plan
Bacchus Marsh residents rally against Maddingley Brown Coal’s bid to receive contaminated soil from West Gate Tunnel Project. (Pictures: Shawn Smits)
Loud and clear By Ewen McRae Legal action could be the next step for the Bacchus Marsh community, as resistance to plans to bring contaminated soil to the region grows. A March 10 rally at the Village Green on Main Street attracted up to 1500 people, many of them carrying signs and chanting in protest of plans by Maddingley Brown Coal to store and process contaminated soil from the West Gate Tunnel Project. Among the speakers at the rally was hexton Lawyers principal lawyer Glenn hexton, who pledged to work with the community. “You can take action and your action will make a diference,” Mr hexton told the rally. “You are not powerless, and you can be supported in a formal manner, and that’s what I’m prepared to do.”
Mr hexton said the community could look at taking out an injunction to stop toxic soil coming to Bacchus Marsh, but following the rally he was unable to conirm what steps the community had planned next. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover the ongoing campaign, including prospective legal costs. More than $5500 was raised in the irst three days. Meanwhile, Moorabool mayor David Edwards said last week’s rally showed the community would not be silenced on the issue, and again called on MBC to provide technical information about how the soil would be stored and processed if it won the tender from Transurban. “he big turnout at this week’s protest rally sends a very clear message: don’t take Bacchus Marsh for mugs,” Cr Edwards said. “Residents are alarmed about the lack of transparency and
openness and want and deserve answers from those seeking to store, categorise and dispose of contaminated soil close to our town. “Council shares the community’s concerns and is calling for greater transparency from all the parties involved in this proposal, including the Victorian government. “hose advocating for this have only themselves to blame for awakening a sleeping giant. Council and the community have been let in an information vacuum. “he proponents have been given every chance to provide key technical reports to council and they have declined all requests. “Without these reports, how can council and the community have any conidence that the verbal assurances being given by Transurban and its partners, government agencies and others are supported by evidence that has been independently peer reviewed?”
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Bacchus Marsh Soccer Club president Liam Kiely said the club’s decision to sever ties with Maddingley Brown Coal was “sensible”. he Scorpions terminated their sponsorship arrangement with MBC on March 5, ending a three year partnership. hey have since re-paid the sponsorship dollars to MBC. “At the end of the day, we’re a community sports organisation promoting health and wellbeing, and we couldn’t continue to accept sponsorship from MBC,” Mr Kiely said. “We met as a committee, did our research on this, and I’m not going to say that there wasn’t plenty of debate, but we decided this was the right thing to do. “We have contacted MBC and given them a chance to talk to us, and their only response was to send us their bank account details.” he $3000 sponsorship made up roughly 40 per cent of the club’s sponsorship for the 2020 season, however the club has since been inundated with ofers from other residents and businesses, as well as Bacchus Marsh Grammar. “Typically a Facebook post for us would reach 200 people, but our post about ending the sponsorship has reached over 7500,” Mr Kiely said. “We’re now pretty close to announcing a new sponsor, and we’ve been amazed by the support we’ve received from the town. Ater the rally I can understand more why people are angry and it just reinforces that we’ve made the right decision.” Mr Kiely said he hoped more groups in Bacchus Marsh followed the soccer club’s lead. “It’s a very hard decision,” he said. “hey sponsor a lot of things in the town, whether it’s sporting clubs, the hospital, whatever, and each organisation is going to have to make their own decision, but personally any other organisation that I’m involved with I will be pushing for the same decision as the soccer club.” Ewen McRae