The WestConnex Action group calls for a halt to Transport NSW's plan for local roads in the Inner West of Sydney. Along with thousands of residents, community groups, the Inner West Council and local MPs, we argue for a more transparent process that takes the views of community stakeholders seriously, rather than using the planning consultation process as a cloak for forcing more traffic onto WestConnex tollroads. Here's our submission:

It’s been a tough 2019, but WestConnex Action Group (WAG) is preparing for another year supporting community members affected by the ongoing construction of WestConnex.  Residents are rightly concerned about potential damage to their homes from WestConnex construction, particularly from tunnelling for Stages 3A and 3B from St Peters and Newtown to Leichhardt and Balmain. Excessive air pollution associated with the building activity is also worrying.

A guide to as to what to do if you’ve experienced damage from WestConnex tunnelling or construction or are worried about damage from Stage 3, the M4-M5 Link tunnel The Rozelle Interchange.

Against the wishes of the City of Sydney, WestConnex has forced its way into Sydney Park to establish up to six big geotechnical drills. The WestConnex Action Group is trying to get to the bottom of why this is happening. 

Marrickville Town Hall, 17 April 2019

For those who missed the packed community information meeting, which discussed WestCONnex property damage and the possibility of a class action, or have asked for more info, here is a summary of the issues covered by the meeting.

As families near WestConnex construction sites take their young children to start the 2019 school year, they are confronting evidence that the Berejiklian government has lied to them about the threat posed by one of the most deadly forms of air pollution, PM 2.5.

A report compiled using the NSW government’s own figures – collected by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and WestConnex monitors – shows extraordinary levels of exposure to PM 2.5. This is a form of pollution known to cause heart disease, strokes and respiratory illness and, in Sydney alone, is responsible for 520 premature deaths each year according to the NSW Environment Protection Authority.

It’s certainly been a challenging 2018 for those of us committed to fighting the toxic toll road known as WestConnex. We have made our voices heard reporting as many of the WestConnex breaches of the law as possible and, in October 2018, WestCONnex Action Group (WAG) gave evidence to the NSW Upper House Parliamentary Inquiry into the Impacts of the WestCONnex Project.

But 2019 will be even busier. 

As well as pressuring politicians for a Royal Commission into WestCONnex (and don't forget the NSW state election is on 23 March), WAG will be setting up a register of WestCONnex property damage, continuing to support the citizen scientists' air quality monitoring project, and be holding WestCONnex and its contractors to account over breaches. 

“This is your chance to have your voice heard.”

The NSW Liberals have done everything possible to hide the truth about WestCONnex. But now there’s an opportunity to shine a light on this devastating project. A NSW Upper House parliamentary inquiry into the impacts of WestCONnex is taking submissions until 31 August 2018 and will start three days of hearings on 9 October.

The inquiry will investigate the WestCONnex business case, the project’s costs, its governance, and whether it’s actually a good investment for NSW taxpayers. (The full terms of reference are at the end of this post.)

This is your chance to have your voice heard. You can make an individual submission or contact WestCONnex Action Group to have your experience included as part of a submission from us or another community group, depending on the issue.

What sorts of matters can be raised? Everything from the St Peters stench to construction noise and cracked houses, health impacts, dodgy amelioration decisions and the destruction of trees and green spaces. And that’s only the start.

“If it had not been for community and the media’s exposure of WestConnex’s dodgy planning processes, these terrible sites would’ve been steamrolled through.” – Catherine Gemmell, Coalition Against WestConnex

The Coalition Against WestConnex (CAW) is delighted that the chosen contractor for the WestConnex M4-M5 Link tunnel has abandoned the Darley Rd Dan Murphys site in Leichhardt and the Muirs site in Parramatta Road Haberfield as tunnelling dive sites for Stage 3 WestConnex.

“This is a huge win for community groups who’ve campaigned tirelessly against these tunnelling sites,” said Catherine Gemmell, CAW spokesperson and member of Leichhardt Against WestConnex community group. 

Last month the Department of Planning and Environment approved Stage three of the WestConnex, the M4-M5 link, for which there is still no actual engineering design, only a concept plan. With this approval it released a series of independent peer reviews, which were hardly complimentary of the way in which transport, air quality and groundwater impacts etc. had been assessed in the project’s environmental impact statement (see our previous blog). Despite the criticism the road has still received a green light from the Department ... an incredibly frustrating situation.