The Environmental Protection Authority’s decision to prosecute Mobil in relation to the June 1999 spill at Port Stanvac is a welcome change of direction for the previously prosecution shy Authority.

But the Authority has yet to adequately explain huge discrepancies flowing from the 1996 spill at Port Stanvac. In response to questions from Sandra Kanck, Transport SA released figures indicating the cost of cleaning up the 1996 spill was $1.4 million. This compares with a cost of $1.5 million for cleaning up the 1999 spill.

Those figures indicate spills of roughly the same size. The conundrum is that the official estimate for the 1996 spill is just 10,000 litres whereas the 1999 spill resulted in 270,000 litres of crude oil spilling into the gulf.

The only (lame) explanation offered so far is that weather conditions at the times of the spills were different. I won’t be letting this matter rest.

EMERGENCY SERVICES LEVY
it’s still unbelievable!

Ian Gilfillan believes the Emergency Services Levy is likely to rise much higher, either next year or after the next state election.

After more than a year of pressure from the Democrats and others, the State Government buckled on September 27^th and reluctantly cut its tax on homes – this year. Although temporarily lower, the Levy is still an unacceptably high impost on both property owners, and motorists.

Ian Gilfillan, the Democrats Shadow Minister for Emergency Services says it’s "unbelievable". He’s identified six "unbelievable" things about the Emergency Services Levy.

Continued page 6

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