Action urged on ‘tip’

VETERAN Geelong Addy photographer Glenn Ferguson did not have to look too hard to find evidence of rubbish being dumped at Point Henry and the Moolap wetlands and saltfields.

Ferguson’s photos (Pages 8-9) will shock some readers.

It’s disgraceful to see how this area has been neglected, and how some residents have treated it as their own private tip.

Our snapper didn’t only eH find a few rogue shopping trolleys on his excursion. He found skanky creeks overflowing with waste.

There were fire hydrants, gas cylinders and 44-gallon drums. Carpets, office furniture and

vM large quantities of wire, cable, hoses and cords. Old crates, household plastics, and countless bald tyres.

In one example, a person — or people — had been so lazy and brazen they had simply dumped a bootload of trash in the middle of a blocked road.

From appearances, it seems they were looking for somewhere to dump their rubbish discreetly, found a closed gate, so just swept all their junk out of their vehicle and drove off.

This was all within close reach of central Geelong, and in an environment that has been described by authorities as both “sensitive” and “significant”.

No one can say what damage has already been done to that environment by this pollution and eco-vandalism.

The Environment Protection Authority’s manager for Victoria’s southwest, Carolyn Francis, articulated what the photographs showed when she said the Moolap/Point Henry area had become “a hot spot for illegal dumping”.

The problem is the area is close to town and — aside from wetlands creatures — uninhabited.

The uncertainty about its future also does not help.

The Geelong community has been waiting almost two years for the State Government to release its Moolap Plan and provide some direction about the potential of this large and unique location.

Last month the Government told the Geelong Advertiser that plan was not far away. Let’s hope it gets a wriggle on.