The residents of Perth鈥檚 southern suburbs are fighting to stop construction of the Perth Freight Link (PFL), a $1.6 billion segment of the federal government鈥檚 national infrastructure program.
The fight is as significant as Sydney鈥檚 struggle to stop WestConnex and Melbourne鈥檚 struggle against the East West Link.
Like the East West Link, the PFL featured in the February 2012 Leighton Holding position paper, . The paper is a wish list of giant construction projects that would benefit Liberal Party-linked civil engineering firms. It was quickly adopted as Liberal policy.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged that the PFL would link logistical facilities at Perth Airport to Fremantle Port via a six-lane, traffic-light-free freeway engineered for maximum speed limits. This will be Western Australia鈥檚 first tollway. The toll will initially be for trucks only, but is widely expected to later include cars.
Main Roads WA has it intends to run along the route. They include triple-trailer road trains.
鈥淭here are so many arguments against the Freight Link that it鈥檚 almost impossible to know where to begin,鈥 Fremantle City councillor and Socialist Alliance member Sam Wainwright said. 鈥淔or a start there is already a freight rail line connecting the two points.鈥
The Fremantle Road to Rail campaign, which Wainwright supports, has initiated a community-wide coalition of groups opposed to the plan.
鈥淭here have been groups organised for years to defend the Beeliar Wetlands and to stop the old plan to build the Eastern Bypass but new groups are springing up almost daily.
鈥淓veryone in the southern suburbs has a stake in opposing this plan,鈥 Wainwright said. 鈥淐ockburn Council has voted $25,000 to fight the PFL and Fremantle Council will vote on a motion opposing the PFL at its June 24 meeting.
鈥淩oad to Rail says there is no sectional solution to this problem. Even if a group saves their own backyard from the bulldozers, the diesel particulate pollution generated by these trucks will blanket the whole area.鈥
The Road to Rail campaign says that there are easy solutions to the overload of trucks going to Fremantle Port. About 30% of all trucks are ferrying empty containers to and from the port鈥檚 container park.
Simply moving the container park to Kewdale and increasing the number of containers on the rail line would eliminate half the trucks.
In its May budget, the WA government announced its intention to sell off Fremantle Port Authority.
鈥淭he sale of the port explains the government鈥檚 haste in pushing this project,鈥 says Wainwright. 鈥淭hey are forcing the community to bear the entire social, ecological and health cost of the freight task for Fremantle Port.
鈥淭he new port owners will be free of all responsibility for transport. It鈥檚 a perfect example of socialising costs while privatising profits.
鈥淢eanwhile, the WA government won鈥檛 be spending any of the sale money on helping people, it鈥檚 all earmarked for bankers to pay off debt.
鈥淎usterity for the many, profit for the few all tied together with an ecological disaster. It鈥檚 a picture of modern Australian capitalism, isn鈥檛 it?鈥 he said.
[Barry Healy is a member of Socialist Alliance in Fremantle.]
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