MP hopes to head waste committee

By Shaun Inguanzo
AN ENVIRONMENT committee chaired by Dandenong MP John Pandazopoulos would tackle Victoria’s toxic waste issue with technical solutions.
Mr Pandazopoulos said he was waiting for Parliament to this week formally induct an all-party environment committee, with the likelihood he would be appointed chairman.
Mr Pandazopoulos, who in the wake of last year’s State Election lost his gaming and tourism portfolios, said he had once been a member of the environment committee and would be returning to familiar ground.
The four-year term will see Mr Pandazopoulos lead an all-party committee reporting to Parliament on tough environmental issues.
The Star asked Mr Pandazopoulos whether he would raise the matter of Lyndhurst tip accepting toxic waste until 2020, while on the committee.
“I wouldn’t expect to because we get references from the Government and the Parliament,” he said.
“A lot of environmental stuff is in the eye of the beholder and some issues claimed to be important are not that major in reality.”
But Mr Pandazopoulos said toxic waste was an important environmental issue facing Victoria.
“These sort of environmental issues will be dealt with through technical solutions,” he said in reference to the 80,000 tonnes of toxic waste produced in Victoria each year.
“We will look at how we can neutralise (the waste), such as how we can get industry to use less things.
“Other approaches require change in community practices, that is, how can we change our dependency on motor vehicles, how do we get more people on public transport.”
Mr Pandazopoulos said issues such as global warming had brought the environment to the forefront of present day debates.
“The good thing is from an environmental point of view there is a lot more focus on issues now than 30 years ago,” Mr Pandazopoulos said.
“The Parliament and environment committee in the past has been able to put forward strategies and policy that we probably take for granted nowadays.
“Having a National Parks system and forming the Environment Protection Agency are some of the things to have come out of such parliamentary processes.”