Secret Recording Exposes Land-Swap Deal for 'Toxic' Waste

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A secret recording, made in 2019, has finally been played in court, revealing a businessman coached a contact on how to engineer a land swap with the government that would see 'toxic soil' dumped and buried. The deal involves millions of tonnes of allegedly contaminated soil from an airport development. The secret recording was made during a conversation between prominent West Australian businessman Greg Poland and landowner Aaron Grainger, at the Subiaco Hotel in Perth. Poland coached Grainger on how to 'solve a political headache' for the state government by facilitating the removal of the contaminated soil.

In the recording, Poland encouraged Grainger to send him a letter setting out the plan, and said he would then use his influence as deputy chairman of the Peel Development Commission, to push the plan to then Transport Minister Rita Saffioti and then-regional development minister Allanah MacTiernan. Poland, the chairman of Strzelecki Group and owner of multiple commercial and residential developments around WA, is suing this masthead and its former journalists over the publication of two stories based on that recording.

Hastie and former WA Liberal Leader Zak Kirkup have also been drawn into the proceedings over their alleged roles in the dissemination of the recording. Poland's lawyer Martin Bennett fought to stop the recording being reported on during Wednesday's proceedings, questioning its authenticity by saying the format of the recording submitted for use in the trial was an MP4, not an MP3 like the original file was.

He also argued no publication of the recording should be allowed until the final judgment had been made, given one of the things the plaintiff sought was the deletion of the recording in all its formats should his case be successful. However, Nine's lawyer Matthew Lewis, SC, argued it was odd that Poland would not want the recording published, given he had maintained throughout the proceedings it would 'vindicate' his side of the story.

Justice Matthew Howard considered several points, including that the recording was suggested to have been made illegally, but said no part of the plaintiff's case argued that the recording contained any defamatory statements. It remains unclear whether the recording will be able to be submitted as evidence.

In the audio subsequently played in court, Poland can be heard giving advice to Grainger, who owns a block of land in Waroona, about 100 kilometres south of Perth. Poland and Grainger discuss how to make a deal with the state government to relocate between two and eight million tonnes of 'toxic sand' from a major infrastructure project in the city to Grainger's land.

Grainger stated he could take two million tonnes of the soil from the airport link project, but that he could take the full eight million tonnes if they allowed him to clear more of his land. Poland then recommended not asking for the permit to clear more land, and to instead offer to take the two million tonnes of soil to start, with the possibility of taking more down the track.

Poland's strategy is to 'keep it simple,' and to 'steamroll anything through' with the support of his contacts in the government. The meeting between Poland, Grainger and Poland's commercial manager Lisa Taylor at the Peel Development Commission, ended with a plan to take the 'toxic sand' to the Waroona site, where it could be buried.

Poland's business interests have not been without controversy. His companies have been involved in several high-profile developments in Western Australia, including the Strzelecki Group's sand-mining project near Mandurah. The sand-mining project has been the subject of several court cases and environmental concerns.

The project involves millions of tonnes of sand being extracted and processed, with some of the sand being sold to major infrastructure projects in the region. However, some environmental groups have expressed concerns that the sand-mining project is causing significant environmental degradation and harming the local ecosystem.

A recent court case involving the project heard that the sand-mining activities were causing 'irreversible damage' to the local environment. The court case was a result of a long-running dispute between the Strzelecki Group and local residents over the environmental impact of the project.