Mr SAWFORD —I was very pleased to receive a letter last week from Mr Stephen Hains, the City Manager of the City of Salisbury, on the ongoing vexed question of the Wingfield dump.

The Salisbury Council has an interest in the management of the Wingfield landfill site due to its strong interest in maintaining the health of the Barker Inlet and the North Arm Creek estuaries. The council pointed out to me the sensitivity of these environments, highlighted recently by the significant dieback of mangroves north of the site. Whilst not proven, this would appear to have occurred as a consequence of excessive acidification of soils in that area, attributable to the landfill site at Wingfield.

The Salisbury Council's examination of documents prepared by the City of Adelaide, the EPA and the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, reveal that potential movement of acidic water emanating from naturally occurring peat soils both within the tip site and on its boundary and the translocation of pore water to the mangroves due to horizontal pressure from an increased tip height have not been addressed. Surprise, surprise!

In addition to the above, Mr Hains points out that the control of litter from the Wing field tip has been an ongoing problem, and significant quantities of plastics, paper and contaminants have been blown from the tip into the North Arm Creek despite the efforts of the Adelaide City Council to recover this litter. He also points out that an increase in the height of the tip is perceived to expose the landfill to increased wind velocities thereby exacerbating the problems currently experienced. That puts a different slant on the Wingfield dump and to claims by the Adelaide City Council of no odour, no dust, no litter off site and that satisfactory environmental safeguards are in place.

On behalf of my constituents, I thank Mr Hains and the Salisbury Council for the above information and for their opposition to an increase in the height of the Wingfield tip.