Inner West Council issues asbestos clean-up notices to John Holland and CPB
Monday 26 February 2024
MEDIA RELEASE
INNER WEST MAYOR DARCY BYRNE
Inner West Council is taking legal action to force John Holland and CPB, the contractors who built Rozelle Parklands and the Rozelle Interchange, to expedite the clean-up of the asbestos contamination in Rozelle.
It has become obvious that John Holland and CPB are not going to meet the Environment Protection Authority’s deadline of February 29 for the removal of all contaminated mulch at the Rozelle Parklands and surrounding areas.
The EPA’s clean-up notice was issued to Transport for NSW, not to the contractors, and the Council is now taking action to make the contractors accountable for urgently completing the clean-up.
On Friday, Notice of Intention was issued to John Holland and CPB as a necessary first step before issuing a clean-up notice. The EPA has also been notified of the action that Council is taking.
Inner West Mayor, Darcy Byrne said that it is totally unacceptable that the remediation is behind schedule and won’t be completed by February 29, as required by law.
“John Holland and CPB have not taken this unprecedented asbestos contamination problem seriously enough,” said Mayor Byrne.
“They act as though they are above the law but their conduct is beneath contempt.”
“Six weeks after asbestos was first discovered at Rozelle Parklands, these contractors are hopelessly behind on the schedule for remediation.
“John Holland and CPB, who have made a fortune from the Rozelle Interchange project, have negligently failed to properly resource the clean-up effort. What a disgrace.
“They have simply not employed enough workers to carry out the emergency clean-up in time and have decided to cut costs rather than uphold their obligation to public safety and the people of the Inner West.
“It seems that because the EPA clean-up notice was issued to Transport for NSW, these contractors have decided that they aren’t accountable for adhering to the deadline.
“It’s extraordinary that Council has been forced to take this action despite the EPA having already issued a notice, but that’s the dire situation we are now faced with.
“Since the discovery of asbestos in the park they built, John Holland and CPB have displayed a flagrant disregard for our local community.
“They have refused to even respond to correspondence from Council or to meet with local community representatives.
“This is a continuation of their shocking record across the last half-decade. Throughout the construction of the Interchange, they have ignored and fobbed off thousands of legitimate complaints from local residents about construction impacts.”
Please find attached a copy of the Notices of Intention issued to John Holland (PDF 306KB) and CPB (PDF 274.8KB).
For media enquiries please contact Jonny Browne, Jonny.Browne@innerwest.nsw.gov.au