More than 100 people joined an emergency protest in Sydney鈥檚 Inner West on March 18 to demand an immediate halt to the $17 billion WestConnex tollway project while its social and environmental impacts are fully investigated.
WestConnex
Residents gathered in leafy Buruwan Park in Annandale on March 4 to protest the park鈥檚 destruction by NSW Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) as part of the controversial $17 billion WestConnex tollway network.
Satellite imaging analysis released for the first time on March 13 shows much greater ground settlement and potential property damage from WestConnex tunnelling than predicted by the NSW Coalition government and the environmental impacts statements for the project.
And so it begins. Premier Gladys Berejiklian has been hitting the airwaves telling us all how successful she has been at raiding the public pantry and flogging off the spoils.
On the other side of the political divide Labor MP Jo Haylen is busy telling her Summer Hill electorate just how much WestConnex is on the nose 鈥 but conveniently neglecting to mention that her party is right behind WestConnex.
An ever growing number of Sydneysiders are now aware that WestConnex will not solve Sydney鈥檚 traffic problems 鈥 instead it will only worsen the chaos.
Many also see that its $16.8 billion budget has been seriously underestimated: it is more like the $45 billion that SGS Economics, the private contractor engaged by the City of Sydney indicated. This figure includes the additional work needed to connect the tollway with local road networks, costs that were deliberately excluded to downplay the project spend.
鈥淲e鈥檙e mad as hell and we鈥檙e not taking it anymore!鈥 Mary Court, secretary of the Penrith Valley Combined Unions (PVCU) and No M4 Toll, told the Don鈥檛 Mess With the West rally on February 16.
鈥淲estern Sydney will rise up; we鈥檙e not a dumping ground for Sydney鈥檚 problems鈥, Court said. 鈥淭he 鈥榯oll tax鈥 on the M4 Motorway is an assault 鈥 We are being forced to pay this M4 toll until 2060, increasing at a rate much higher than inflation, to pay for the Coalition state government鈥檚 cost blow-outs elsewhere.
Residents from Annandale and Rozelle, in Sydney鈥檚 inner west, protested against WestConnex on February 15. The controversial $17 billion WestConnex tollway is set to destroy a much-used park and cycle track in the area.
The Penrith Valley Community Unions (PVCU) held a protest against the WestConnex M4 toll on October 26. About 50 people gathered in Triangle Park and then marched to the nearby electoral office of Penrith Liberal MP and NSW Minister for WestConnex Stuart Ayres.
Experts have rejected claims by the new CEO of the controversial $17 billion WestConnex tollway that halting Stage 3 of the project would necessarily cost taxpayers 鈥渂illions鈥 and have a 鈥渄etrimental鈥 impact on local neighbourhoods.
Early submissions to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the Impact of the WestConnex Project, which began on October 9, have already exposed the disastrous environmental and social effects of the controversial $17 billion WestConnex tollway.
In case you didn't have enough, here's 13 reasons for throwing out the NSW Coalition in the state elections next March.
The WestConnex privatisation 鈥渋nvolves arguably the biggest misuse of public funds for corporate gain in Australian history鈥, Sydney University transport analyst Chris Standen on September 3.
Standen was commenting on the August 31 announcement by the New South Wales Coalition government that it was selling off 51% of the controversial WestConnex tollway complex to a Transurban-led consortium for $9.3 billion.
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