Dear Yanchep News Online,
I AM writing to let Yanchep and surrounding residents know the Carramar and Tapping Residents Association strongly believes stage 1 of the Neerabup resource recovery precinct should be declared a controlled action under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and undergo further federal environmental assessment.
Carramar and Tapping Residents Association (CTRA) is not opposed to responsible waste and recycling infrastructure however there are many other ways to provide long term waste solutions for our city.
We have encouraged all members of the City of Wanneroo including staff and councillors to discuss waste solutions with Jane Bremmer from Zero Waste Australia as once our mature bushlands, habitats and trees are cleared, they are gone.
The referral confirms that black cockatoos have been sighted within the proposed action area.
The city’s 2026 survey identified 22 potential black cockatoo breeding trees within the proposed development area with up to 16 proposed breeding trees up for removal.
We also need to look at the bigger picture here as Neerabup is already under immense pressure from all the road and industrial development in the area which includes all the clearing around Flynn Dr.
Each project the city undertakes may have a completely separate approval process but our wildlife do not recognise project boundaries and habitat loss all adds up.
A little bit here and a little bit there means that the wildlife corridor is slowly closing in.
There have also been changes and inconsistencies between the ecological surveys – when nationally threatened species and irreversible clearing are involved in any project, these questions should be properly resolved before any work goes ahead.
Declaring the project a controlled action does not mean it is automatically rejected, it means that the environmental impacts receive further federal assessment before a final decision is made, which is all we are asking for.
Residents now have the opportunity to comment.
You do not need to be an environmental expert, you just need a voice.
The decisions that are currently being made in Neerabup over this waste precinct will affect our community for many, many decades to come.
We need to take the time now to properly understand the environmental impacts before the clearing begins is quite simply – responsible decision making.
We have emailed all the residents that have signed up to our newsletter with some templates to help them navigate the process and welcome residents from across the City of Wanneroo to join CTRA and be part of a strong community voice.
For a copy of the templates email president@carramar.org.au or visit www.carramar.org.au for more information.
The window for comments closes on August 20.
Anna Weatherill
Carramar and Tapping Residents Association president
