Northern Victoria Region
Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (12:28): (792) My constituency question is for the Minister for Water. The City of Greater Bendigo has announced a proposed partnership with Western Composting Technology to establish a composting facility located in Huntly. The proposed private composting facility expects to process up to 30,000 tonnes of food and garden organic waste annually and is to be located on council land right next to the Bendigo Livestock Exchange in Huntly. More than 20,000 sheep and lambs are sold at the exchange every week before being transported across the state and overseas. Public submissions for this development have already closed, and both local residents and stock agents are frustrated about the lack of consultation and engagement. The Huntly community is still recovering from further flooding in January this year. Local residents have raised concerns about biosecurity risks and the decision of the local council to build the facility on a flood plain. I ask the minister to review the proposal and respond to the concerns raised by the local community.