RESIDENTS campaigning against WestCONnex are now staging a sit-in at NSW Parliament House to call on Premier Mike Baird to meet with the community, and to halt all work on the controversial toll road while a public inquiry into the tollway’s planning takes place.

Three residents entered the viewing gallery at the start of Question Time and dropped a banner that read “No WestCONnex / Baird it’s time to listen”. The trio then informed ministers that dozens of residents were sitting in the Fountain Court waiting for Premier Baird to come out and listen to their concerns.

“Opposition to the disastrous WestCONnex toll road is rising by the day, but Premier Baird has refused to listen to legitimate community concerns,” said No WestConnex spokesperson Paul Jeffery.

“Instead, he’s allowed secretive private companies to take control of billions of dollars of our money, and make huge decisions that will affect the future of our city without any transparency whatsoever. 

“By allowing private tollway interests to hijack WestCONnex planning process, Premier Baird has turned this $17 billion publicly funded project an undemocratic, chaotic farce,” said Mr Jeffery. 

“Premier Baird has refused to even consider independent evidence that WestCONnex will fail western Sydney, worsen our costly traffic congestion, and divide rather than connect communities,” said WestCONnex Action Group spokesperson Anne Picot.

“That’s why we’ve brought our campaign into parliament itself. If Mike Baird won’t listen to the community, we’ll bring the community to him, so that NSW politicians and the public can hear our message. 

“We are calling on Premier Baird to halt on all work on the WestCONnex toll road immediately, and to hold a public inquiry into how such a destructive and poorly planned project got this far without any accountability, transparency, or consideration of its disastrous impact on Sydney,” said Ms Picot. 

Media contacts: Paul Jeffery 0410 636 663, Anne Picot 0404 090 710