Tip activist makes a stand

By Shaun Inguanzo
AN ANTI-TOXIC waste lobbyist angered by the Planning Minister’s show of support for the Lyndhurst tip operator will run for the Victorian Upper House as an independent candidate.
Dandenong’s Geraldine Gonsalvez this week announced she was running as an independent candidate for the South Eastern Metropolitan Region.
She is grouped with Doveton’s Julie Boustead on the ballot paper.
Ms Gonsalvez said she and anti-toxic waste group Residents Against Toxic Waste In The South East (RATWISE) were upset by a letter Planning Minister Rob Hulls wrote to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal at the “eleventh hour” before the State Government went into election caretaker mode.
In his letter, Mr Hulls stated he would make a submission supporting Lyndhurst landfill operator SITA in its fight to continue receiving prescribed hazardous wastes because the tip was a “significant” part of Victoria’s waste landscape.
Ms Gonsalvez said the letter was dated 31 October, the day the Premier submitted a writ for the state election.
Ms Gonsalvez said RATWISE had faith in the legal system and hoped the letter describing Mr Hulls’ submission would not hinder the course of justice.
She said the letter played a part in her deciding to run for the Upper House, but there were other reasons. “I am hoping proportional voting will make way for more minor parties in the Upper House,” she said.
“Julie and I are hoping to create diversity. We just put our names down to be a choice on the ticket.”