TWO residents who occupied the roof of a forcibly acquired home in Haberfield to protect it from WestCONnex destruction this morning have been arrested and charged with trespass.
Paul Jeffery, 62, and Chris Elenor, 65, spent four hours on the roof of 1 Wolseley St within the Haberfield conservation area. They decided to occupy the roof after the former family home was fenced off for demolition to make way for a WestCONnex construction compound.
“We took this stand to show solidarity with the hundreds of people who are losing their homes and businesses to this toll road,” said Mr Jeffery.
“We also wanted to stand up for our communities, which will suffer terribly from the toxic pollution and traffic WestCONnex will cause, and the people of NSW, who are being forced to pay for this $16.8 billion disaster through tolls and taxes.
“We wouldn’t have done this if the Baird Government had actually consulted with our communities, and listened to experts who’ve made it clear that WestCONnex will make Sydney’s traffic congestion worse.
“Instead, they’ve ignored the experts and treated residents with contempt in their rush to hand over billions of taxpayer dollars to companies accused of corruption,” said Mr Jeffery.
“We are so grateful to Paul and Chris for taking this brave stand to protect our city from WestCONnex,” said WestCONnex Action Group spokesperson Pauline Lockie.
“More and more people are now realising that Mike Baird’s WestCONnex will be a economic, social and environmental disaster.
“And given how much Federal taxpayer money is being wasted on this project, it’s time Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten stepped up to oppose this toll road – or pay dearly at the ballot box.
“We fully expect to see more residents engaging in civil disobedience to protect Sydney until the Baird Government calls a halt to WestCONnex and this senseless destruction.”
Media contacts: Pauline Lockie 0414 470 106, Paul Jeffery 0410 636 663
Photos can be viewed at bit.ly/roofprotest. For high-res versions, please contact us.