The Hon. Lachlan Hunter, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Food (WA), Media Release, 20 November 2025

A disgraceful decision made behind closed doors, ignoring years of community opposition.

Member for Central Wheatbelt, Lachlan Hunter MP, has slammed the Cook Labor Government for signing off on the controversial Perth waste dump planned for York. He says this is one of the most blatant betrayals of a regional community in recent memory.

“After years of sustained community backlash, countless submissions, rallies, petitions and meetings, Labor has arrogantly pushed ahead with turning York into a dumping ground for Perth’s rubbish,” Mr Hunter said.

“Minister Swinbourne refused to meet with me, York residents or local stakeholders for months. I wrote to him directly, and he refused to front up. That alone tells you everything about Labor’s contempt for regional WA.”

Mr Hunter said the approval, quietly granted today, follows years of inaction from Labor ministers, including the former Environment Minister.

“The previous Minister sat on this for months and did absolutely nothing, waiting for the State Election to pass. And Labor’s own 2025 Central Wheatbelt candidate publicly pledged to the community that this landfill would not be approved under a Labor Government. That promise has now been exposed as a complete and deliberate lie.”

Mr Hunter said Labor’s decision showed no regard for the town of York or the wider Wheatbelt.

“Labor has shown no regard for community voices, no regard for road safety on Great Southern Highway, no regard for tourism, no regard for water security and no regard for Aboriginal cultural heritage,” he said.

“This project is flawed from top to bottom. The EPA report itself highlighted significant risks, yet Labor has waved it through as if York is nothing more than a convenient dumping site for metropolitan waste.”

Mr Hunter said the fight was far from over.

“As the local MP, I will fight this disastrous decision until the end. I will not let York be treated as the rubbish bin of Perth,” he said.

“The Wheatbelt deserves respect, not to be railroaded by a Labor Government more interested in pleasing metropolitan interests than protecting regional communities.”

Mr Hunter urged the community to stand strong.

“We have been let down by a Labor Government that promised consultation, promised transparency and promised to listen,” he said.

“Instead, they have delivered secrecy, betrayal and a ticking time bomb for York’s environment, roads and heritage.”