If you were concerned about ammonium nitrate in Kojarena, you can rest easy for now

Council have rejected, again, the proposal to store ammonium nitrate, a dangerous good, at Kojarena. The proposal was put forward by Blue Energy Explosives. Several members of the community reached out to Everything Geraldton during the week expressing concern of the storage of the highly dangerous substance in Kojarena.

At the beginning of the meeting, members of the public, including neighbouring farmers, expressed serious concerns over the proposal .

Cr Van Styn said he inspected the property and despite the fact that there was the potential for more jobs, he believed the fact that the buffer zone encroached on someone else's property, as well as other factors, made the proposal unacceptable. Phil Melling, director of sustainable communities, said the buffer zone was completely on the proponent's property, according to their submission.

Mayor Ian Carpenter said he believed more public feedback was needed before considering the proposal.

Councillor Jerry Clune said at least three meetings have already been held with the proponent, and they had been largely difficult to contact on the matter, rejecting the notion more consultation was needed with Blue Energy Explosives, and calling on his peers to support his motion to reject Blue Energy Explosive's proposal outright.

The vote was 10/4 to reject the proposal.