[Greens-Media] MARK PARNELL MLC: Come Clean on Port Stanvac Clean Up

[Parnell]

Media Release
Monday 18th August, 2008

Come Clean on Port Stanvac Clean Up


The Rann Government has refused to release, under Freedom of
Information, progress reports on the clean up of the Port Stanvac oil
refinery site.

"The Government is refusing to tell us what progress is being made by
ExxonMobil at Port Stanvac.  What dirty secrets are they hiding? This
has a real smell about it," said Mr Parnell.

"The public has every right to be suspicious - especially as the
Government has announced Port Stanvac as the preferred site for their
desal plant before finalising negotiations with ExxonMobil.  

"They have put themselves in a very tricky bargaining position.
ExxonMobil's responsibility to clean up Port Stanvac must not be traded
off by the Government in order to secure favourable terms for the site,"
he said. 

Under the agreement between the Government and ExxonMobil signed in July
2006, the company was required to provide a progress report every six
months to an Independent Site Environmental Auditor and the
Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).  

The Department of Premier and Cabinet has refused to release to Greens
MLC Mark Parnell the three reports completed so far on the grounds that
it 'could have an adverse effect on the business affairs of the third
party'. 

"Why won't they release a report they were publicly heralding just two
years ago?  

"Is the pollution worse than we thought, or has the company made little
or no progress on their clean up?   

"Either way, the public has a right to know, especially if a third of
Adelaide's water is set to be manufactured on this land," he said. 

  

	
For further comment contact Craig Wilkins on 0434 007 893

	


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