{"id":623490,"date":"2026-04-22T12:18:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T12:18:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/623490\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T12:18:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T12:18:19","slug":"australias-richest-garbo-pushes-mega-incinerator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/623490\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s \u2018richest garbo\u2019 pushes mega incinerator"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ian<\/p>\n

Ian Malouf sold the biggest waste dump in the southern hemisphere at Eastern Creek as part of his Dial-a-dump business for $577.5 million in 2018. Now he wants to get into the industry again with the biggest incinerator in the southern hemisphere.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s \u201crichest garbo\u201d is pushing ahead with plans for the Southern Hemisphere\u2019s biggest waste incinerator \u2013 despite claims it could become \u201cthe Pacific\u2019s ashtray\u201d.<\/p>\n

The massive $1.4 billion, 900,000-tonne-a-year proposal comes almost eight years after a similar \u2013 but smaller \u2013 plan was rejected in New South Wales following sustained community opposition and regulatory scrutiny.<\/p>\n

\"Malouf\"<\/p>\n

Ian Malouf in his $60 million apartment in Sydney. Picture: Ryan Osland<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Robert Cromb, managing director of Kookai fashion label, during public consultation on the project. He holds a tourism development lease over the area where the incinerator is being proposed. Source: Facebook\/TNGFiji<\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Protesters have taken holding signs outside an Aussie Kookai retail outlet. Source: Facebook\/Protect the Heritage Coast \u2013 Vuda, Saweni<\/p>\n

The waste-to-energy proposal has now resurfaced, with the Malouf family backing a new development as it moves through a crucial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process in Fiji.<\/p>\n

The plant is proposed for Vuda Point, near Nadi \u2013 Fiji\u2019s main tourism gateway and a key strip of resorts, beachfront developments and residential land.<\/p>\n

Fashion label Kookai managing director Rob Cromb \u2013 who grew up in Fiji and is driving the proposal with Mr Malouf\u2019s backing \u2013 said the project was \u201cfundamentally different\u201d from earlier Australian proposals.<\/p>\n

He pointed to European-standard emissions controls, cyclone-resilient engineering and a design tailored for Fiji conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not a replication of any overseas proposal,\u201d he told News Corp Australia, adding the facility was designed to handle Fiji\u2019s own waste \u2013 not Australia\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis project is not about bringing in waste from Australia \u2013 it is about dealing with the growing volume of waste already being generated within Fiji,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, he acknowledged the plant could eventually rely on imported waste to operate at full capacity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The energy from waste plant proposal has Kookai managing director Robert Cromb leading the lobbying along with Australia\u2019s richest garbo Ian Malouf. Source: GHD\/TNGFiji.<\/p>\n

\"NSW<\/p>\n

NSW Premier at the time Barry O\u2019Farrell and then Dial A Dump Industries CEO Ian Malouf at the opening of Sydney\u2019s biggest landfill site Genesis, near Eastern Creek in Sydney, which was formerly a hard rock quarry.<\/p>\n

\n\"\"<\/p>\n

Artist\u2019s impression of an incinerator planned for Eastern Creek which was rejected.<\/p>\n

Pacific island waste imports have been identified by project proponents as a \u201csupplementary source\u201d to fill future capacity requirements once Fiji\u2019s landfill stockpile is exhausted, with modelling indicating this may occur from around 2033.<\/p>\n

The project\u2019s scale is outlined in EIA documentation, which shows the facility is designed to process up to 900,000 tonnes of waste per year \u2013 compared with Fiji\u2019s estimated annual waste generation of around 300,000 tonnes.<\/p>\n

According to the same modelling, the project would draw on an estimated five million tonnes of existing landfill stockpile, which could contribute approximately 500,000 tonnes per year of feedstock for around a decade.<\/p>\n

Project documents also state that \u201ca meaningful share\u201d of long-term operations would rely on waste beyond Fiji\u2019s current disposal stream, depending on how domestic waste volumes and landfill remediation progress over time.<\/p>\n

This has contributed to concerns raised by critics about the project\u2019s scale and long-term implications, including warnings from Fiji\u2019s UN ambassador Filipo Tarakinikini that Vuda \u201cmust not become the Pacific\u2019s ashtray\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The final public information session held on Monday night in Fiji. Source: Facebook\/TNGFiji<\/p>\n

\"Power<\/p>\n

Ian Malouf in a file image on his boat Mischief1 at Jones Bay Wharf in Pyrmont. Picture: Jonathan Ng.<\/p>\n

He questioned why a project rejected in Australia should now be pursued in Fiji.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this project could not meet Australia\u2019s environmental and health standards \u2026 why should Fiji, with far less regulatory infrastructure, accept it?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Tarakinikini said the scale of the proposal raised concerns that it may be designed to serve a broader regional waste management market, rather than solely Fiji\u2019s domestic needs.<\/p>\n

The proposal has ignited a broader debate over Fiji\u2019s future \u2013 pitting waste management and energy needs against environmental risks and the country\u2019s global tourism brand, its main source of foreign exchange.<\/p>\n

Critics warn a heavy industrial plant in the heart of Fiji\u2019s tourism corridor could hit investor confidence, drag down property values and damage the image that underpins its economy.<\/p>\n

Developers argue the opposite, pointing to job creation, energy generation and reduced reliance on imported diesel, but said they were \u201cnot in a position\u201d to provide detailed modelling on property market impacts around Vuda and Nadi.<\/p>\n

Mr Cromb said the project has not yet been approved.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage, no final approvals have been granted \u2013 the project is subject to the outcome of the Government\u2019s review, including public submissions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

April 22 is the final day Fiji\u2019s environment department will accept public submissions on the proposal, with the final decision resting with the Rabuka Government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ian Malouf sold the biggest waste dump in the southern hemisphere at Eastern Creek as part of his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":623491,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-623490","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=623490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/623490\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/623491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=623490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=623490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=623490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}