TAT News

 

 

 

Melbourne’s East West Link  – Friday Jan 10th

 

 

Over 40 protesters and residents formed picket lines this week in efforts to slow down the East West Link project. Protesters gathered at test drilling sites in the suburb of Fitzroy, just north of Melbourne’s CBD.

Protesters are trying to slow down testing at 14 different drilling sites along the 18 kilometre long East-West Link project route. The project will cost the government $8 billion and connect up existing toll roads in Victoria.

It is alleged residents found drill rigs at the three sites in the dead of night, and workmen’s cars were parked in residents’ spots.

The Linking Melbourne Authority (LMA) denies this allegations, saying all businesses and residents near the drill sites received notification.

“This included an initial letter in December 2013 and further letters this week… and (we) also previously gained approval for these sites through the City of Yarra,” says LMA spokesman Gemma Boucher.

Boucher insists no private spaces were used, “public car park spaces (not residential) were reserved to ensure that the drill rig could be safely installed.”

Fitzroy resident Peter Harding, who has protested against the future toll road and tunnel since the start said he was there today to help delay the tunnel, “The [Victorian] government doesn’t have a mandate [for the East-West Link project]. It’s not a good solution and there shouldn’t be a tunnel.”

Harding believes the project is, “…an injustice to the Victorian people…” and vows to continue the protest.

“I’ve been involved in the [East-West Link] protests since the very start, since the Ruckland Street campaign. The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour, so I guess I’ll be back.”

Clashes with police broke out on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Protest organiser Mel Gregson of the Socialist Party was allegedly punched in the face, and more scuffles occurred yesterday when protesters moved through the busy Alexander Parade on down to Reeves Street. There was a clash in Charlotte Street when protesters found out that a drill was starting, after protester organiser Anthony Main of the Socialist Party had called an end of the protest for the day.

Main was arrested for half an hour yesterday by police, but later released.

Main’s confidant the protesters could slow the project, “Obviously to stop the whole thing, we’re going to need more numbers than this, but that said, our goal is to, at the very least, slow it down because what we’re trying to do is to stop [the Victorian government] from signing a contract five minutes before an election… We know they are on a very, very tight schedule.”

“…anything we can do to slow things down, whether it’s a few hours here or there or a few days somewhere else, to slow that down, [the protesters] believe that to be very effective” says Main.

Police were unavailable for comment and no protesters have been charged with any offences.

 

 

The Walk Home 2014

The Walk Home 2014 (TWH2014) team are finalising vehicle and gear hire for a planned 300 km march along the Thai-Burma Railway in Thailand on ANZAC Day 2014. The march will raise awareness and money for Soldier On, a charity that looks after the welfare of mentally and physically injured Australian soldiers.

The group consists of 10 to 12 serving or returned Australian Defence Force personnel, state and federal police and civilians from throughout Australia, with Perth members meeting monthly for group training. The team will start at Ban Pong in Thailand and work their way North West to Sangkhla Buri along the ruins of the Thai-Burma Railway (nicknamed “The Death Railway” due to prisoners of war being used as forced labour in its construction during World War Two). The trip is estimated to take 12 days.

TWH2014 is the brainchild of Bryan R., who came up with the idea of the march whilst deployed to Africa earlier this year with the Federal Government.

“On a brief period of leave, I had arranged to meet up with my wife in Thailand where we visited the museum at Kanchanaburi. This is where I had the initial idea to walk it (the Thai-Burma Railway) and my wife suggested that I do it for charity. On my return to South Sudan, my wife informed me about the new charity called Soldier On. On ANZAC Day this year, after a couple of brown lemonades, I managed to convince some mates to join me.”

So far, TWH2014 have managed to raise over $26,000 with corporate sponsorships and other events and the 8/12 Royal Australian Artillery regiment has planned to raise around $3000 through weekly sporting activities.One hundred percent of donations will go to Soldier On, who work to get the best care for wounded Australian soldiers to help with their recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration. In Afghanistan, 261 Australians from all three branches of the ADF have been wounded with 8% of all personnel deployed to Afghanistan returning with psychological problems such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

For more information, visit http://thewalkhome.com.au/

To donate to Soldier On
click on this link:  http://www.soldieron.org.au/

 

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