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JANUARY 26, 2021 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
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Celebration of film
Directors Chido Mwat and Em Baker, filmmaker Andrew Robb and actor Sunny S. Walia. (Damjan Janevski) 225418_02
A record number of entries will be on show at the Sunshine Short Film Festival this year. More than 50 short films from across Australia, Singapore, Iran, Italy, Bulgaria, Russia, Germany, India and Ireland will be shown in this year’s festival, including Em Baker’s Dolphin. The film has been shown at a number of festivals, with the Sunshine festival set to be its last showing. “It’s good to support local film festivals and there’s something about promoting local talent as well,” Ms Baker said. “It’s great to see people getting back into the cinema after COVID. Hopefully people go to the festival and support the region and industry.” The festival will kick off with a gala screening of 19 films at Village Cinemas in Sunshine on February 11 and continue through to February 20. All screenings, including the gala, will be live-streamed. Winners will be announced on February 25. Details: www.sunshinefilmfestival.com.au/ Tara Murray
Tip expansion appeal lost By Benjamin Millar The long-running battle to halt expansion of the Ravenhall tip could be headed to the High Court after a challenge to millions more tonnes of waste being dumped in the landfill was knocked back by the Victorian Court of Appeal. The state government first gave the green light to a 96-hectare expansion of the Cleanaway-operated Melbourne Regional Landfill in 2017. That sparked an appeal by Brimbank and Melton councils and community campaigners Stop the Tip to overturn the decision in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) due to impacts including increased
odour, landfill gas and other wastes. The VCAT hearing heard from nearby residents who complained about existing and potential odour issues at the tip – the state’s largest landfill – but the tribunal backed the original decision. Developer Mt Atkinson Holdings, which has significant residential and industrial developments under way on nearby land, fought to have the decision overturned in the Supreme Court’s Court of Appeal. But in a decision handed down just before Christmas, the court upheld the earlier approval for the seven new cells, expected to extend the life of the landfill from 2023 to 2036. MRL currently receives about 11 million
tonnes of waste each year and this is expected to increase over time. Melton council chief executive Kelvin Tori said the council remains concerned about the tip’s expansion. He said Mt Atkinson Holdings Pty Ltd is now seeking special leave to appeal to the High Court. “Melton City Council is not a party to this process, however remains concerned with any expansion of the MRL,” he said. “In a fast growing community such as ours, where residential and business investment is booming, the last thing we need is the further expansion of a waste facility that has the potential to accept toxic soil not only from the West Gate Tunnel Project, but also from other major infrastructure projects, long term.”
Brimbank mayor Ranka Rasic said the council remains opposed to any proposed expansion and intensification of activities at the landfill. Cr Rasic warned that expanding and intensifying landfill and waste storage activities across the west would affect the health and wellbeing of the local community and environment, and hinder efforts to maximise economic and job opportunities. “Brimbank’s Environmental Equity Agenda acknowledges that Melbourne’s west has borne the unfair brunt of absorbing the state’s waste, landfill, contamination, pollution and transport needs for too long,” she said. Mt Atkinson Holdings Pty Ltd and Cleanaway were contacted for comment.
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