Judgement time on East West Link

The final submissions on the East West Link tollway, were heard on Tuesday (15 April, 2014) and the Assessment Committee has now retired to write its report. It is charged with deciding whether the tollway should be approved, and if so under what conditions.

Over the last 6 weeks the six panel members have been hearing evidence about the Comprehensive Impact Statement or CIS. It received 1430 submissions and heard from 210 individuals and community groups. However the public still don’t have a full picture of the costs and impacts and the expert witnesses clashed over the claims made for this project. Continue Reading…

Address to the Comprehensive Impact Statement (CIS) hearing for the East West Link

As presiding deity for this talk here is Bill Peterson, the mayor of Fitzroy, being arrested in his mayoral finery in 1977, at a protest against the F19/Eastern freeway—back when police still wore ties. It was because of these protests that the freeway now stops at Hoddle St instead of running all the way to the then Tullamarine freeway, now City Link.

Image: As presiding deity for this talk here is Bill Peterson, the mayor of Fitzroy, being arrested in his mayoral finery in 1977, at a protest against the F19/Eastern freeway—back when police still wore ties. It was because of these protests that the freeway now stops at Hoddle St instead of running all the way to the then Tullamarine freeway, now City Link.

Address to the CIS hearing for the East West Link, 10 April 2014 – Andrew Kelly

My name is Andrew Kelly. I am a resident of Fitzroy, but where I live would be well back from Ground Zero, should the project go ahead.

For the last thirty or so years I have been teaching ancient languages at various American and Australian universities. I’ve never been involved in sustained political action before, but I have thrown myself into the campaign against this project.

Like many others, I’ve done this because the project, like Ralph Nader’s Chrysler, is bad under every heading. Different things have moved different people to come out against it, but for summary we can arrange the project’s failings into concentric circles of woe, depending on the range and immediacy of those impacted. Continue Reading…

Photo petition: We want Trains Not Tolls!

Send a message to politicians and candidates in the lead up to the November 29 Victorian State Election

For more info visit No East West Tunnel – Take the pledge.

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