Flying pickets delay toll road
After announcing last year that test drilling had been completed, the Linking Melbourne Authority (LMA) has now added another string to the tangle of lies that is the East West Link tollway scam by resuming drilling in Melbourne’s inner north.
Since the start of this year, authorities have engaged protesters in a game of cat and mouse, setting up drill sites at unannounced locations in the early hours of the morning. The LMA has ignored requirements to inform nearby residents before setting up their sites because too many were passing information on to our campaign.
This community intelligence has helped picketers arrive on site rapidly and regularly disrupt drilling operations. As a result, the LMA has been pushed weeks behind in its schedule.
A recent Age/Nielsen poll indicated that 74 percent of Victorians favour the improvement of public transport over the construction of a major road network. The campaign is demanding that the government scrap the toll road and instead commit resources to a more effective and environmentally sound rail network.
Red Flag spoke to a number of activists on the picket.
“The number one aim of the campaign has to be to stop the contracts being signed before the next [state] election, because the Labor Party is missing in action. They say if the contract is signed, they’ll build it anyway”, explained Tony, a veteran of a 1977 campaign against the Eastern Freeway extension.
Local resident and retired electrician Keith is one of many who stand to lose their homes to the tollway. He expects a final acquisition notice in April or May. However, he remains positive: “What we’ve got to do is get behind one another. We all stick together. Unity. We can beat this!”
One thing is clear: Liberal Premier “Dodgy” Dennis Napthine is not to be trusted. In championing the East West Link, he is reneging on an election commitment. He claims that the East West Link will relieve traffic congestion, yet a leaked report commission by the LMA has shown that the proposed road will actually increase congestion at key bottlenecks.
The police too have shown characteristic duplicity. On one occasion recently – after expressing concern about protesters’ safety to gathered media – the commanding officer at the picket choked a protester and remarked, “I hope it hurts”, according to the picketer in question, Ash.
Picketers are keen to ensure that police violence doesn’t have the intended effect of scaring off supporters. “People who want to support by [coming to the picket and] standing on the sidelines, that support is really valuable as well … I’d encourage people to come along”, said Tony.
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