Agricultural
27 July, 2025
NSW Nationals call for waste-to-energy inquiry
NSW Nationals are pushing for a parliamentary inquiry into waste-to-energy technology.
Fears of bush communities in NSW being used as convenient locations for proposed “waste-to-energy incinerators” to process city-derived waste has led to calls for an investigation into the increasingly thorny issue.
NSW Nationals are pushing for a parliamentary inquiry into the technology, following claims that almost a million tonnes of extra rubbish could be sent to the regions each year to help deal with Sydney’s overflow.
As well as previous suggestions for such a plant to be established on prime agricultural land at Narromine in late 2023 and 2024, which caused considerable community concern locally, there are currently plans for two large energy recovery facilities, one that would divert 600,000 tonnes to Parkes, and another that would see 380,000 tonnes taken to Tarago, south of Goulburn, where it would be burnt for electricity generation.
A motion will be moved to establish an inquiry when state parliament returns in August, led by Nationals Upper House MPs, Nichole Overall and Scott Barrett, with Mr Barrett saying this is a chance for those impacted communities to have their voices heard.
“The communities hosting these projects have every right to have their say, and we’ll be pushing hard to make that happen,” Mr Barrett said.
“Despite the Minns Labor Government admitting it is going to run out of landfill space in Sydney before the end of the decade, its only solution seems to be dumping that waste and burning it in regional areas, far away from any of their local constituents,” he added.
Both areas were earmarked for waste-to-energy projects under a 2022 regulation requiring such facilities to be built in regional areas, but Ms Overall said issues raised by communities have been ongoing.
“Having previously met with concerned residents in the Tarago area, I’m also on the record questioning Labor’s Environment Minister on why Western Sydney isn’t suitable to take Sydney’s waste but it’s apparently fine for the regions – for which no answer was provided,” Ms Overall said.
“Now a number of Parkes locals have come to me with their valid questions, from emissions to potential agricultural and health implications, and this inquiry will ensure these matters are properly addressed,” she concluded.
