Greens call for independent judicial inquiry over Mt Bingo fiasco

Central Coast Greens spokesperson Ms Kate da Costa said the Greens have grave concerns about the landfill operations at Mangrove Mountain Golf Club and support the actions of local protestors and the Community Environment Network in drawing concerns about the entire process to the attention of the public.

“We call for a properly independent judicial inquiry to investigate the entire process, and to oversee immediately an assessment of the contents of the landfill, as neither the State government, Gosford Council, Environment Protection Authority (EPA), the Mangrove Mountain Golf Club, or the State RSL can be trusted to oversee this testing or make the results public.

“We note that the CEO of Gosford Council has referred some staff to the Independent Commission Against Corruption over discrepancies related to the development applications and consent conditions of this operation.

“It is quite clear to the Greens that this is not a golfcourse remodelling exercise but a private land-fill.

“There is no independent, public monitoring of the landfill, despite complaints from local residents over many years that noncompliant, possibly toxic materials have been dumped there.

“The EPA’s response, that toxic materials are prevented by the consent conditions, is clearly inadequate, since many other consent conditions appear to have been breached.

“The EPA is complicit in this entire debacle, and the Central Coast Greens believe this is in part due to the fact that the State government revenues have benefited from the tipping fees associated with Mt Bingo.

“The Central Coast Greens do not believe that further dumping should be allowed on the site.

“The landfill that is there now should be tested for safety and if toxic materials are found, Verde Terra should be required to remove that waste at their own cost.

“We are alarmed that the land which was given in trust to the community of Mangrove Mountain by a respected war veteran to provide community sporting facilities, appears to have been sold by the State RSL to Verde Terra, despite controversy over whether they have the right to do so.

“It appears also that the directors of the Golf Club, as tenants, who created this monster in the first place, have never been called to account.

“This is an appalling affair, where apparently illegal dumping has been allowed to continue, where it appears Gosford Council staff have inappropriately rewarded Verde Terra by agreeing to an extension of 10 years of further dumping, and where we believe that in the end, the local community will have to pay the cost of a massive environmental clean-up.

“The question needs to be asked – if there is no contamination of the water courses, which feed into our drinking water supply, why will neither council, Verde Terra nor the EPA make the water monitoring reports from the last 10 years public?”

Media statement,

12 Aug 2014

Kate da Costa, Central

Coast Greens