The mayors of Maribyrnong and Hobsons Bay councils will speak at a rally demanding emissions filters be installed on the West Gate Tunnel project to reduce the risk of pollution.
Organised by the Maribyrnong Truck Action Group (MTAG) the ‘Clean our air – filter the stacks’ rally will take place at Yarraville Gardens on Sunday, March 2, in a last ditch attempt to have filtration devices installed in the tunnel’s ventilation stacks which are currently under construction.
Maribyrnong mayor Pradeep Tiwari and his Hobsons Bay counterpart Daria Kellander will speak at the rally, as will Western Metropolitan MP David Ettershank and GP, medical educator and writer, Associate Professor Vicki Kotsirilos.
In 2023 Maribyrnong council declared a health emergency due to air pollution in the inner-west, while Hobsons Bay council called for filters to be added to the tunnel in its submission to the project’s Environment Effects Statement (EES) in 2017.
MTAG president Martin Wurt said that time was running out to have filters installed.
“Transurban ( tunnel operator) needs to apply for an operating license of the stacks and we’re expecting them to lodge that application with the EPA (Environmental Protection Authority Victoria) any week now,” Mr Wurt said.
“We’ve been working with Environmental Justice Australia and their lawyers have identified that this application process is the last chance to get filtration before the tunnel opens.”
Mr Ettershank said it was hard to fathom how a tunnel expected to be used by about 70,000 vehicles a day could not have emissions filters.
“The tunnel is supposed to reduce air pollution by moving vehicles underground, but if vehicle emissions are simply pumped back via unfiltered stacks, it will do nothing but pollute,” Mr Ettershank said.
Despite an inquiry recommending the filers, the state government and EPA decided against mandating filters in the tunnel during the project’s EES process in 2017.
A state government spokesperson said filtration technology was not proven and that the West Gate Tunnel would improve air quality in the west by getting trucks off the road.
“The new tunnels will use effective and proven ventilation technology and are being built to strict environmental standards,” the spokesperson said.
