hhag newsletter 4
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Notice of Community Meeting
Hartley School Hall
Saturday 2nd May
7.30 to 9.30 pm
Invitation to the Hartley Community to hear the most up-to-date information on the government proposal for a super highway through the valley, to discuss how the community should defend the valley from massive damage, and to agree on actions to be taken by the Hartley Highway Action Group.
Everyone welcome
The Federal Member Bob Debus and the NSW State Government are promoting a massive, half-billion-dollar road construction project through the Hartley Valley, with the objective of enabling heavy road freight to avoid the Victoria Pass and River Lett Hill.
The Hartley Highway Action Group Committee believes that this specific objective could be achieved most effectively, and in the most sustainable way, by connecting the Darling Causeway to the Great Western Highway at Marrangaroo via a new route across the Newnes Plateau.
The Hartley Highway Action Group Committee believes that the current proposal is short-term and short-sighted. Wheat, coal and other commodities should be carried by rail rather than road. Building bigger roads for larger trucks adversely affects communities in Hartley and the Blue Mountains, damages the environment and fails to deliver the only sustainable long-term solution for heavy freight.
Since our last newsletter in January, the Hartley Highway Action Group Committee (HHAG) has met on four occasions. In that time a founding member of the committee John Trehy has resigned due to other commitments. On behalf of the community we thank John for his contribution. Maintaining our strength Jeremy Dawkins who has a wide experience as a leader in state planning, has joined us.
It is now twelve months since the formation of the committee at a public meeting last May. At that meeting and one following we were instructed by the community to ”represent the community and report back to community before any critical decisions are made by RTA.”
Since that time much has been done to drive protest and support the alternate Newnes plateau option. Meetings with politicians, numerous letters, much debate on strategy and the establishment of a website and a major report length submission to the RTA on their route proposals. We have published four newsletters and distributed them to four hundred homes in the valley to update the community, we developed letter writing resources to facilitate community protest and worked on the promotion of our cause to the press and other interest groups. We have also worked with other groups with contrary agendas to introduce our issues to them, to understand their points of view and to look for common ground that we could build relationships on in order to find greater political traction on our issue.
In this time we have also got a much better insight into what this upgrade is really about. The agenda is primarily about providing access to Sydney for trucks that are larger than those currently allowed to use the highway over the mountains, and in far greater numbers than at present. On any route through the valley, these monsters will impact enormously on everyone who uses the highway (either to the west or to Sydney) together with landowners located adjacent to the road.
Two weeks ago we heard the announcement of the shelving of the Newnes plateau option and since then have heard the reasoning from the RTA as to how the army’s objection has frustrated this option. We have a right to be very angry that an issue like this that should have been determined at day one has been used to “trump the interests of Hartley”. We have not accepted this as the end of this option. Be assured that many groups including ourselves, the Bells Line of Road Group and others will continue to lobby against this decision. Everyone needs to continue to push for a Newnes route.
We now also need to move this battle onto a new footing. On the one hand we need to protest the dropping of the Newnes option, on the other we need to continue to build support in the mountains for a protest based on safety, environmental and sustainability grounds – no monster trucks through the Blue Mountains; the protection of our valley will be a part of the cause, but supported by a much larger voter block ie the Blue Mountains. As HHAG works on those items, as a community we need to engage with the RTA’s route determination process.
It is well worth remembering that the primary reason for this “upgrade” is to facilitate the movement of 26M Three-section B-Double trucks (so-called “high productivity” trucks) from Western New South Wales to Sydney. Due to safety and amenity these trucks are banned from a great number of towns right across Australia, yet it is proposed that we live and drive with them every day. Stopping these monsters and diverting the freight to rail will go a long way towards negating the reason for this upgrade- allowing the RTA to do what they should be doing: keeping the Great Western Highway safe for all of us- not just profitable for commercial interests!
The RTA’s decision on a route through the valley will be difficult for the whole community. Some will benefit, others will be disadvantaged. Philosophically, if we have to have a super highway running through the valley, staying in the current corridor may be the most equitable option. On the other hand such a decision by the RTA, while protecting some heritage assets will not protect others. We all agree that this is a short term and inappropriate solution for heavy freight and will destroy our valley- the most historic valley in Australia.
There are going to be many complex trade offs being made by the RTA. We may be able to exert some degree of communal influence on the process through the committee. On the other hand many on the committee, including myself, own property that may be affected by the road, creating conflicts of interest. We need to work around these issues because there is much that we can do as a committee representing the community.
We need discussion on a number of points including:
- How much do we want to delay the process? In the long term a delaying strategy will deliver the best outcome for the whole valley. On the other hand we appreciate that people want to get on with their lives.
- We have been actively building support from other groups in the Mountains. We would like your support for this strategy.
- Whilst we are still adamant that there will be no additional road through the valley, we need to start talking about the issues that are going to emerge in the RTA’s route options process.
We have scheduled a meeting at the Hartley School hall 7.30pm Saturday 2nd May because we need to hear your thoughts on what we should be doing.
We are working to represent you.
Please try to join us for this important meeting.
David Peters
Chairman HHAG Committee
20th April 2009
