Sick of WestConnex
Image: Jenny Leong wants urgent on health and safety breaches at Westconnex construction sites. Photo: Mark Riboldi
BY STEPHANIE TILLER
Newtown Greens MP Jenny Leong has called for “urgent action” on health and safety breaches allegedly occurring on WestConnex construction sites.
Ms Leong’s call for action comes after weeks of incidents surrounding WestConnex construction sites.
One of the incident included a 30-year-old male suffering severe bruising to his legs after he was trapped under a concrete support structure on the site.
Ms Leong said breaches including asbestos contamination, unsecured demolition debris and inadequate security fencing and signage have been raised with her.
“The WestConnex project is designed to be hidden from proper scrutiny. The private Sydney Motorway Corporation sub-contracts work to cowboy contractors who don’t comply with mandatory health and safety requirements, and the construction conditions are not being adequately monitored by the NSW Government.
“While we have received reassurances around health and safety issues, particularly with reference to asbestos, we are still seeing breaches on demolition sites that are being reported by community members,” she said.
Ms Leong said the community is being told “trust us, we’ll fix things” but the breaches of basic compliance issues is making this difficult to believe.
On 11 February 2017, unsecured iron roofing and timber was blown from a WestConnex demolition site onto Campbell Street, St Peters and into the yards of neighbouring homes.
Three days later, St Peters resident Tamara Regan witnessed the unsafe removal of asbestos from a home being demolished by construction workers on Brown Street in St Peters.
A spokesperson for The Sydney Motorway Corporation said both incidents were isolated and site inspections had been carried out to ensure properties and materials on site were secure.
“The safety of the community and our workers is our highest priority in the delivery of the WestConnex project.
“Sydney Motorway Corporation and the New M5 contractor are continuing to work closely with the Department of Planning and Environment and SafeWork to ensure compliance,” they said.
A spokesperson from SafeWork NSW said they were responding to, “requests for service from members of the public in relation to asbestos and dust contamination, tree work, plant safety and site security.”
Ms Regan said she has been reporting compliance breaches at the construction site of the New M5 St Peters Interchange daily, with no action being taken in response.
“I’m currently lodging up to three complaints a day to the EPA and Work Cover. I contacted Stuart Ayres office in Penrith and they said WestConnex is not a local matter so direct your questions elsewhere.
“Every time I lodge a complaint with the Sydney Motorway Corporation I get a generic email back restating my claim but with no resolution. Often the responses sent to me are completely unrelated to what my complaints are,” she said.
Pauline Lockie, spokesperson for the WestConnex Action Group (WAG), said the lack of action on health and safety breaches is concerning.
“We’re talking about the kind of health and safety breaches that can easily result in serious injury, if not fatality, and yet despite residents and groups like ours reporting these issues to the proper authorities, we are not seeing any kind of serious action being taken.”
“If we’re lucky, the work will get stopped for maybe a few hours or a day at a time, but then it resumes again and we see the same kinds of breaches happening,” she said.
“What is really concerning is not just the volume of complaints that we’re getting about construction breaches on WestConnex sites, but also the lack of action being taken on these complaints.”
“Sydney Motorway Corporation (SMC) is committed to engaging with the community and stakeholders to ensure they are given opportunities to discuss their concerns and provide feedback,” the spokesperson for SMC said.
“SMC has comprehensive complaints management processes to address issues, including safety, as quickly and effectively as possible.”
Ms Leong and WAG called on NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to halt work and conduct a review into WestConnex.
