Rural
5 May, 2026
Select Committee to hear community’s views on proposed Energy from Waste facility
THE NSW Select Committee on Proposed Energy from Waste Facilities will be travelling to Goulburn on May 14 and 15 as part of its inquiry.
The NSW Select Committee on Proposed Energy from Waste Facilities will be travelling to Goulburn on May 14 and 15 as part of its inquiry.
During its visit, the committee will conduct a site inspection as well as a public forum and a public hearing.
The public forum will be held at the Goulburn Workers Club between 4.30pm and 6.30pm on Thursday, May 14.
The forum will provide members of the local community with an opportunity to share their views directly with the committee.
Those people wanting to attend the forum need to register by using the link on the NSW Parliament website at www.parliament.nsw.gov.au
Registrations will close on Tuesday, May 12 and speaking places will be limited. Each speaker will be strictly limited to two minutes.
The public hearing will be held at the Goulburn Workers Club between 9am and 1.30pm the following day (Friday, May 15).
Members of the public are welcome to attend and observe the proceedings.
The Select Committee was established on August 6 last year to inquire into – and report on – proposed ‘energy from waste’ facilities.
It received more than 1400 submissions before the October 31 closing date and has advised that due to the high volume, there will be a delay in processing, reviewing and publishing submissions online.
As reported previously by The Southern Wire, Veolia is proposing to build an ‘Advanced Energy Recovery Centre’ at its Woodlawn EcoPrecinct using state-of-the-art technology to convert waste that cannot be recycled, into electricity.
It says the project would create hundreds of jobs, drive economic growth and become an important part of the emerging circular economy, helping to divert waste from landfill and reduce carbon emissions.
However, there appears to be little support for the project locally.
Goulburn-Mulwaree Council resolved its “total opposition” to Energy from Waste within the LGA on September 22, 2021 and subsequently reaffirmed that position on March 15, 2022.
It resolved to formally object to the Veolia proposal at an extraordinary meeting on November 29, 2022.
It says the proposal for an ‘Energy to Waste’ facility near Tarago is contributing to ‘disruption and disrepair’ in the local community.
Concerns relate to long-term health impacts, property values, soil contamination and a loss of value on livestock and grain commodities.
It says those concerns have translated to a community that is “socially tired, understandably angry and unable to move forward with any certainty about then future”.
The NSW Waste and Sustainable Material Strategy 2041 – released in 2021 – identified the need for at least four ‘Energy from Waste’ facilities in NSW by 2041.
Under the Energy from Waste Infrastructure Plan, the Southern Goulburn Mulwaree Precinct (Woodlawn) is one of only four designated precincts across NSW where Energy from Waste Facilities will actually be allowed.
The other precincts are located in Parkes, Lithgow/Wallerawang and the Richmond Valley.
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