AN IPSWICH candidate in the state election has a plan to create jobs while tackling the controversial issue of dumping.
The Greens candidate Brett Morrissey says hundreds of jobs can be created by transforming the industrial and former mining precinct of Swanbank into a recycling and green energy precinct that can power the city.
Mr Morrissey also wants to harness existing bio-gas opportunities to produce energy, saying Ipswich has untapped potential as a site for solar farms and the chance to turn mountains of trash into a job creating, environmentally friendly industry.
“This is a great opportunity for Ipswich to revitalise its economy by recapturing the value of the recyclable materials others have dumped on our doorstep,” Mr Morrissey said. “We have a tremendous resource, a renewable green resource, and there is an opportunity to exploit that resource to create value and to create jobs.
“I will enact policies, incentives and help to develop the infrastructure to increase recycling and build an industry in the future.
“I will enable ordinary people, the mums and dads of Ipswich a chance to invest in, and profit from, an eco-economy to begin the transformation to a better community for future generations,” he said.
“Ipswich needs a bold and inspiring vision that integrates sustainability at its core.”
The issue of dumping in Ipswich was highlighted by the ABC Four Corners program earlier this year.
The investigative program exposed that more than 500,000 tonnes of waste was being trucked into Queensland with a lot of the ending up in landfill sites in Ipswich.
Ipswich City Council has since stated it wants the State Government to take control of the situation by introducing a dump fee levy.
Source: qt.com.au
