THOUSANDS of people flocked to the family-friendly Save Sydney Park Festival on Saturday 1 October to protest the destruction of Sydney Park, and support the anti-WestConnex blockade on Euston Rd.
Organised by Reclaim The Streets (RTS) and WestCONnex Action Group (WAG), the five-hour music festival featured local acts playing everything from Chicago house to UK garage, hip hop, jungle, and drum and bass.
“The Save Sydney Park Festival was organised in just eight days,” said RTS spokesperson Dr Ivan Crozier.
“In that short time, we signed up seven sound systems and multiple acts, and convinced thousands of people to come out and support the fight against WestCONnex.
“That we achieved such a huge show of support in record time shows how angry people are about WestCONnex, and how sick they are of Mike Baird selling us out to his toll road mates.”
“We signed up lots of new supporters and volunteers for the Save Sydney Park blockade, which is now entering its third week and has already stopped WestCONnex workers from carrying out illegal works to destroy the park’s trees,” said WAG spokesperson Vince Polito.
“It’s clear our community is willing to do what it takes to stop Casino Mike destroying Sydney Park and St Peters, and ‘replacing’ these losses with the world’s worst park: some ‘green space’ next to WestCONnex’s unfiltered pollution stacks, flyovers and six-lane highways.
“Festivalgoers came from as far away as Nimbin and Wollongong to support the blockade, and tell us how furious they are to see Mike Baird wasting billions on WestCONnex while our regional roads, schools and hospitals suffer.
“Mike Baird is no longer Teflon Mike, and his plummeting approval ratings show the mud from WestCONnex is starting to stick.
“It’s time for Premier Baird to finally do the right thing, halt WestCONnex, and hold a parliamentary inquiry into how this disastrous project got so far,” said Dr Polito.
Contact: Ivan Crozier 0479 101 310, Vince Polito 0420 758 577
Photos from the event can be viewed at bit.ly/2djvRKk. Contact us for high-res versions.