An angry Brookland Greens resident demands answers at a City of Casey meeting. 23077
By Bridget Brady
City of Casey mayor Janet Halsall said affected residents had been through a “harrowing ordeal” and may continue to struggle for months or years to come.
Cr Halsall said it was no wonderthey were still seeking answers from the council.
The group was established to formulate a plan to restore community confidence among residents of the neighbouring estate to the Stevensons Road landfill in Cranbourne.
“It will help rebuild the spirit and confidence of residents,” Cr Halsall said.
Casey Council will chair the group’s meetings, record and distribute minutes and take the group’s ideas forward for consideration and possible resourcing by the council.
Members of the group said their aims were to be part of the decision-making process and information exchange in relation to works at the closed landfill site and the future community life of residents within the Brookland Greens Estate.
About 200 residents from the estate were told to evacuate their homes last month because of the risk of explosive levels of methane gas leaking into their houses.
The CFA is controlling the state of affairs at Brookland Greens and a spokesperson told the News on Tuesday that it was still classified as an “emergency situation”.
The State Government’s ombudsman is investigating how the crisis arose and who is to blame, but Cr Halsall said she wanted the State Government to conduct an open and independent inquiry about the methane gas chaos to get the real answers.
“The sort of answers than only an open and independent inquiry can deliver,” the mayor said.
Ten families, most of them tenants, have not returned to their homes since the debacle.
“We have still got a long journey ahead,” Cr Halsal said.
