THE FINAL number was $600,000 – the penalty handed down to Cleanaway after the company pleaded guilty to seven offences in Ipswich Magistrates Court last week.
But Stop the Stink spokesperson Tracey Butler, said the result was disappointing, a slap on the wrist.
“The fine should have been one million dollars because that is what the Government was saying they would be fined,” Ms Butler said.
“We would love to know why that amount was lowered.
“Residents and the children of Ipswich deserve the fine to be a lot higher for all the suffering we have put up with from these odours.”
The penalty stands as the highest penalty ever handed down by Queensland’s environmental regulator for an environmental odour nuisance offence, following an investigation by the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science, and Innovation (DETSI) who explored resident complaints regarding a “rotten egg gas odour” following extreme rainfall in 2022.
The court found Cleanaway had failed to take all reasonable and practicable measures to stop the smell and the company had committed other offences, including pumping contaminated water around the site, and using it for dust suppression.
The Liberal National Party campaigned at the recent Queensland State Election, promising a health inquiry to be launched into the Swanbank facility, following Ipswich City Council’s push for this to occur.
Mayor Teresa Harding told Local Ipswich News the health inquiry would be the end goal from many years of advocacy from the Council and the community.
“While Council had made numerous requests of the previous government for a public health enquiry, these requests were declined,” Mayor Harding said.
“The new Queensland Government was sworn in last week and Council will approach the new Health Minister Tim Nicholls on the matter, and it is my intention to work closely with him to see this inquiry delivered as quickly as possible.”
Ipswich and Lockyer Valley Greens spokesperson, Dani Mutton, said the penalty handed down was not surprising based on past operations.
“Cleanaway has a long history of non-compliance, and this isn’t the first time they’ve been caught red-handed doing the wrong thing,” she said.
“With Cleanaway’s 2024 Annual Report showing a Statutory Net Profit of $158.2 million, a fine of $600,000 barely registers.”
A spokesperson for Cleanaway told media the company took environmental compliance seriously and acknowledged its responsibility to minimise offsite impacts of its facilities.
“Cleanaway acknowledges the impact the odour emissions had on the local community following the mass rain events in 2022,” they said.
The company said it had spent more than $60 million on improvements at the site, including storm water management, landfill gas capture, and capping.
Resident spokesperson Michelle Fillipi said it was hoped the health inquiry would be delivered by the new State Government.
“We are hopeful LNP stick to their promise of opening a public health inquiry, so we have clear answers as to what is happening,” Ms Fillipi said.
