A WESTERN Suburbs MP has called for an investigation into “very severe offensive odours” which have been troubling residents in Deer Park, Caroline Springs, Burnside, Brimbank Gardens, Albanvale and Kings Park for years.
In parliament last week, the Liberal Party’s Bernie Finn asked the Minister for Environment and Climate Change Ryan Smith, to inquire into the issue.
Mr Finn said former Brimbank Councillor Marion Martin has written to him about the rancid smell.
Ms Martin said the odour was “so bad you close all the windows and doors and it still gets into our house and quite often you have trouble breathing”.
“I desperately need some help we have been living with very severe offensive odours for several years which happen about once a week sometimes more often, and lasting from 30 minutes up to four hours, any time of the day and more of them at night,” she said.
“To explain the smell, it is just like a very strong rotten garbage smell which occurs when we get south-west winds, and on very still nights the smell can linger for hours.
“Talking to neighbours, everyone smells it but nobody knows where the smell comes from, we believe it could be from a landfill tip situation in our areas.”
Mr Finn said many residents did not know which authority to complain to about the stench.
“It seems to me that this is an intolerable situation for many thousands of people to have to live with possibly every day,” Mr Finn said.
“I ask the Minister for Environment and Climate Change to direct the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to investigate the source of the odour and report back to local residents as soon as is humanly possible.”
The Minister for Higher Education, Peter Hall, told parliament he would convey Mr Finn’s request to Mr Smith.
Residents affected by bad odour can contact the EPA pollution hotline on 1300 372 842.
