After years of complaints, the residents of a suburban area are finally getting an inquiry into the health impacts of noxious smells from nearby waste facilities.
Thousands of people in Ipswich, southwest of Brisbane, have objected to the odours wafting from several waste management facilities, known as the Swanbank landfill.
Householders and the mayor have long called on the Queensland government to hold a public inquiry into the health impacts of exposure to smells often likened to raw sewage, rotting compost or eggs and decaying animals.
Health Minister Tim Nicholls announced on Thursday he had directed the department to hold a top-level inquiry into the “health issues that may arise” from smells wafting from the Swanbank facilities.
“We know people have been experiencing things like rashes. They feel nauseous and they feel sick,” he told reporters.
The Liberal National Party promised an inquiry into the smell ahead of the 2024 state election.
The inquiry will be led by former chief health officer John Gerrard who will invite a range of experts to the panel, hold public hearings and take submissions from the community.
“This needs to be resolved,” Dr Gerrard said.
It follows years of complaints by residents, some of who said they could not sleep with their windows open due to the pungent, sickening smell.
“It’s easier to close up the house than to wake up and vomit everywhere,” resident Tracey Butler told AAP in an interview in November.
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding welcomed the inquiry, saying locals would finally be heard.
“For so many years the people of Ipswich have talked about the health impacts they have felt from the odours and the stench,” she said.
However, she criticised how long it had taken to launch an inquiry.
“It’s absolutely disgusting. It’s not right and it’s not fair,” she said.
Ms Harding hoped the inquiry would conclude waste facilities with food organics and composting areas should be enclosed.
Ipswich, which sits on the outskirts of Brisbane, has a fast-growing population expected to double to 560,000 by 2041.
Some companies have already been subject to legal action as a result of the stench in the area.
The latest was waste management company Cleanaway, which received a landmark fine in November totalling $600,000.
It pleaded guilty to seven odour nuisance offences, specifically related to odours that began after extreme rainfall in 2022.
The inquiry will hand down its report in June.
