“Montrose deserves better. Our schools deserve better, and our children deserve far, far better”.
This was the passionate declaration of a mother and school teacher, Melissa, as one of many hundreds of people campaigning against the expansion of Boral’s Montrose quarry.
Her statement was met with loud applause at the Stop the Montrose Quarry Expansion community meeting held on Wednesday 3 December, where 130 residents and community members attended.
Community pressure is building as the Stop the Montrose Quarry Expansion group rallies support as they await the planning minister’s decision on the proposed 30-year, 30-acre expansion.
Melissa said she is “a resident whose family cares deeply about Montrose” and chose to make the suburb home because of its “sense of safety, the peaceful environment, (and) the connection to nature”.
As a mum but also as a local primary school teacher, Melissa said Montrose offers children a place to explore the bush and breathe clean air, but the “proposed expansion puts all of this at risk”.
One of Melissa’s greatest concerns is the potential increase in silica dust, something she said “is not a small issue”.
“(Dust doesn’t) stop at the school gate. It enters the classrooms…it drifts into our homes,” she said.
“Our children would be exposed to it all day, while they are at school, and then again, when they return home.”
A resident of Liverpool Road told Star Mail she has been unable to open her windows for over 10 years because of the dust generated from the quarry.
She said that while it had always been a factor, once several large trees had been removed from a neighbouring property, the dust became so severe that she engaged a private report to test the level of silica.
Mould started to grow around the window frames due to the lack of natural airflow, and the family had to invest in air purification systems.
Anecdotes of local families wanting to move their children out of nearby kindergartens, change schools or even move out of the suburb completely were also shared at the community meeting.
As of Friday 12 December, 2887 signatures had landed on the group’s Change.org petition, while 682 people had signed Monbulk MP Daniela De Martino’s petition, both which call for a rejection of the expansion and a full Environmental Effects Statement (EES).
Forty-plus year veteran councillor Len Cox has also once again thrown his support behind the community, stating at the community meeting that this would make it the third time he’s opposed a Boral expansion in Montrose, the last in 2008 being successfully refused.
Councillor Jeff Marriott also attended the meeting, sharing that he’s “very sympathetic with this” and he stands with the community.
“The benefits of not having the quarry are massive,” he said.
“With the schools…and preschools, I mean, it can’t get much more important than that.”
Yarra Ranges Council also confirmed at the 11 November council meeting that it had formally written to the Minister for Planning, Sonya Kilkenny, and advocated for an EES process.
“Council shares community concerns about potential environmental impacts—such as vegetation loss, waterway disruption, bushfire risk, and amenity issues from noise and dust—and supports further assessment through an EES, including technical studies and community input,” planning and sustainable futures director Kath McClusky said.
In a statement from a Boral spokesperson, they cited the decades-long history of the quarry operating in this area as part of its reassurances to the community that all standards and protections would be followed.
“This is not a brand new greenfield quarry application. The Montrose Quarry has operated for 70 years coexisting with the growing nearby local community,” the spokesperson said.
“We operate in a highly regulated environment and comply with our licences and permits to make sure our controls meet and where possible, exceed required standards to safeguard the health and safety of our people and the community.
“Throughout the decades of our operation, there have been significant innovations in mitigating impacts from quarrying operations.”
Melissa said the health and safety of residents and the community should always come first, and that “development must never outweigh responsibility to protect the wellbeing of entire communities”.
“We are asking to be heard”, Melissa said, for the future generations who will live and grow up in Montrose.
“Our children will live with the consequences for the rest of their lives.”
This is one of a series of stories the Star Mail will publish, be sure to check out further stories to come.
