Manjimup Shire president calls for State Government action on asbestos after Pemberton Timber Mill fire

A South West leader has slammed the State Government’s response to removing asbestos from State-owned sites as “tardy” after a fire ripped through an asbestos-riddled timber mill in the South West last Friday. The blaze — which is being treated as suspicious by police — billowed toxic smoke into the air for hours, sparking fears of a whole-town evacuation. It is believed to have damaged the building to the point it will need to be demolished, with calls for the State Government to act sooner rather than later to stop the spread of contaminated fibres into town from the rubble. The Pemberton Timber Mill — which the State owns and is leasing to WA’s biggest hardwood timber operator, Parkside Timber — was engulfed in flames in the early hours of December 9, with crews responding just after 5am. The Department of Fire and Emergency Services issued warnings for residents to keep their windows closed and stay inside as hazardous smoke billowed just kilometres from town. Manjimup Shire president Paul Omodei — who has voiced his concerns on the matter on multiple occasions — said the State Government needed to take responsibility for the removal of the dangerous fibre. Mr Omodei said the State Government had been aware of the asbestos and its subsequent dangers since 2019. “They have been tardy in responding to what is an obvious risk and they should have been all over that,” he said. “We brought this to the State Government’s attention in 2019, we have correspondence about that. “They’ve been trying to say that it’s the lessee’s responsibility. In reality it’s a lease, the ownership of the land and the buildings are with the Government.” Mr Omodei said the question now is will the Government take responsibility given the site is owned by the State but leased by Parkside. “It’s a disaster waiting to happen regardless of who is the legal owner and I think the Government should take some responsibility,” he said. While no longer operational after shutting down in 2016, the building on the outskirts of Pemberton contained millions of dollars worth of machinery belonging to Parkside Timber. Mr Omodei said the building was so badly damaged that it needed to be demolished. He said that came with an abundance of logistical issues. “They would probably have to cart some of the contaminated materials all the way up to Red Hill,” he said. “So a major major issue, which could run into millions of millions of dollars.” Mr Omodei said Pemberton was lucky that the wind was blowing away from town on Friday morning however, the site needed to be cleaned before the wind had an opportunity to spread contaminated fibres across the town. “When I got there at 5.45am the whole bottom base was alight,” he said. “Fortunately I think we’ve sort of had a fair bit of luck in that there was very little wind, the smoke plume was going straight up for at least a couple of hours. “It looks like because of the wind direction that we have dodged a bullet,” he said. “Virtually it could have meant the contamination of the whole town.” Mr Omodei said he was devastated the mill — which is rich with Pemberton’s past logging history — was now gone. “There’s an amazing history there going back over 100 years,” he said. “So from that point of view it’s devastating.” “The damage is done, the asset is destroyed, so what do you do,” he said. “Do you leave it there ... that becomes a risk for the community and an absolute eyesore.” Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage spokesperson said Parkside Milling Pty Ltd held responsibility for the management of the Pemberton Timber Mill site under the terms of the lease. “DPLH is aware of the recent fire at the Pemberton Timber Mill site,” they said. “Together with other relevant State agencies and the Shire of Manjimup, (DPLH) will support Parkside as it progresses the required investigation and clean-up works for the site.”