The new legislation was flagged in May 2023 and revealed by Environment Minister Leanne Linard in Swanbank on Saturday.
“Odour is affecting the lives of thousands of Queenslanders every day, particularly in the
Swanbank and New Chum areas,” Linard said.
“This is simply unacceptable and since becoming minister, addressing this has been a top priority.”
This map of the Swanbank Industrial Park shows how close residents of Collingwood Park, Redbank Plains, Swanbank, Flinders View and New Chum are in 2024 to noxious industries.Credit: Department of Environment, Science, and Innovation
The bad odours in several suburbs around the Swanbank Industrial Park have made some residents physically unwell for several decades.
These concerns prompted groups like IRATE to lobby for changes to waste industry guidelines.
Environment Minister Leanne LinardCredit: Brisbane Times
Linard said the proposed new legislation includes sections restricting waste companies from delivering “odorous waste” to compost businesses which do not meet these new laws.
“At a community meeting in Redbank Plains in September, I gave a commitment that the government would consider stronger regulations that would require all existing organics facilities in close proximity to residential areas to transition to fully-enclosed facilities,” Linard said.
“For years, the Environmental Regulator [the Department of Environment and Science] has tried to get some operators to do the right thing.
“Now we have taken decisive action to strengthen the regulations.”
The government said there had been a 40 per cent increase in the number of inspections since 2023, and almost triple the enforcement notices issued.
Dodrill described the government’s compliance officers as pro-business.
