By Kara Irving
UNCERTAINTY surrounds the future of a contaminated industrial site in Yarraville, with speculation that the State Government will sell the undeveloped land.
Speaking in Parliament last week, Shadow Minister for Ports Denis Napthine accused the Brumby Government of mismanaging 221 Whitehall St in Yarraville.
During a tour of the contaminated site on 27 August, Napthine claims Port of Melbourne Corporation CEO Stephen Bradford said to him that the company would ‘clean [the land] up’ and then ‘sell it’.
Purchased in 2001, the State Government-owned Port of Melbourne Corporation spent $13.5 million on the land to aid the future growth of Victoria’s ports.
However, in 2007 the Victorian Auditor-General reported that the value of the land had dropped from $13.5 million to $500,000 in value.
The report also investigated the contamination of the land, with traces of arsenic, copper, lead and sulphur found to be contained in the soil. The clean-up is expected to cost anywhere between $6 million and $70 million.
Napthine said he would continue to monitor the situation to ensure the health and safety of Yarraville residents.
‘We would need to keep abreast of what action the Port is taking to clean up the land and how the process would be undertaken. [The Port] would have to provide absolute assurances to the neighbours and businesses that there is no contamination of the area,’ he said.
A spokesperson for the Port of Melbourne said that the corporation was not intent on selling 221 Whitehall St and has been working on a long-term plan to re-mediate the site. The spokesperson also said the corporation was intent on ‘long term leasing’ for the site.
