2016-02-22
Greens call on the Andrews Government to put the environment and community first and conduct proper community consultation as part of the Environment Effects Statement process on the Western Distributor.
“Labor failed to properly consult on the Sky Rail proposal, I’m not sure we can trust them to do a better job with the Western Distributor,” said Colleen Hartland, Greens MP for the Western Suburbs.
“Meaningful consultation would involve hearing and acting on concerns of the residents, and the biggest concerns are that lack of commitment to 24 hour truck curfews on local streets and destruction of Stony Creek Reserve.”
“Minimising environmental impacts must drive the decisions about final route and the ramp and tunnel placement, not the other way around.”
“Too often governments decide the route of a new freeway, which often involves destroying parklands, and then boast about small environmental concessions identified through the environment impact assessment process. It’s not good enough.”
“A comprehensive assessment of the air pollution impacts from new diesel truck movements and the tunnel ventilation towers must be an integral part of the environmental assessment process.”
“Route options that minimise the impact on green spaces and waterways must be a priority. Stony Creek reserve must be protected and the impact minimised on Moonee Ponds Creek and the Maribyrnong River,” said Ms Hartland.
* To see the community demands for the Western Distributor project, click onthe link below. The first test as to whether these demands will be met will be whether the scope of the ESS includes comprehensive air particulate matter studies, proper noise assessments to establish baseline noise levels for monitoring, and consideration of toxic waste management, amongst others.