2017-09-18
Ms DUNN (Eastern Metropolitan) — My members statement is on the north-east link. The Andrews government has shown it does not care for the views of locals by trying to ram through yet another big toll road. Regardless of the alignment, the north-east link toll road will carve through green space and community facilities and divide neighbourhoods in Melbourne's north and east.
The government's initial technical assessment shows a clear preference for option A, which will affect the Heide Museum of Modern Art and schools in Bulleen and sacrifice the Koonung Creek reserve. It will increase traffic and congestion on both sides of the Eastern Freeway, with an associated increase in air pollution and noise.
The residents affected by this alignment have rightly organised themselves and started doorknocking and leafleting in their neighbourhood to raise awareness of the project and its potential impacts. The response to this by the government has been extremely heavy-handed. The North East Link Authority has asked for tips about who has been sharing that information and has passed this information on to the police. The North East Link Authority is attempting to bully locals into silence when it comes to a final decision on the alignment without coming clean on the social, environmental and economic impacts of the four options.
Residents have a right to be concerned about the impact of this toll road on their communities. They have a right to organise, a right to associate with their neighbours, a right to doorknock, a right to leaflet, a right to protest and a right to independently assess the impacts and discuss them in public forums. The North East Link Authority should be ashamed of its oppressive strategy and must be brought to heel by the Premier.