SUMMARY
The extension of Roe Highway (Roe 8) is a key development in the Perth Freight Link project. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) recommended the approval of the proposal by Main Roads Western Australia (Main Roads) which has come under fire from conservation and community groups concerned about the environmental impacts which will be caused by the Roe 8 extension.
Of the 165 appeals lodged against the findings of the EPA Report, the WA Minister for Environment upheld seven in part by amending some EPA conditions and including new ones as it was his view that the EPA had adequately addressed key environmental factors in its assessment. That decision has been the subject of protest and the instituting of proceedings for judicial review in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
PERTH FREIGHT LINK PROJECT
The Perth Freight Link is the largest road infrastructure project to take place in WA. The $1.6 billion project is jointly funded by the Commonwealth and State governments. The project will create a strategic link in the Perth road network, allowing north-south traffic to bypass the Perth CBD and inner suburbs. Roe 8 is the first stage which involves a 5.2km extension of Roe Highway.
ROE 8 RECEIVES CONDITIONAL APPROVAL
On 13 September 2013, the EPA Report to the WA Minister for Environment recommended conditional approval for Roe 8.
165 appeals were lodged against the findings of the EPA Report. The majority of appeals called for the Minister to remit the proposal back to the EPA for reconsideration, or for the proposal not to go ahead at all.
On 2 July 2015, the WA Minister for Environment gave conditional approval for Roe 8. The Minister allowed seven of the 11 appeal grounds in part by strengthening some of the conditions recommended in the EPA Report and adding new conditions, such as:
- the implementation of a Construction Environmental Management Plan;
- investigation of the need for noise barriers; and
- measures for translocating the Southern Brown Bandicoot and Black Cockatoos.
On 22 October 2015, the Commonwealth Government gave conditional approval after it considered the proposal in the context of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), which focuses on the protection of matters of national environmental significance.
COMMUNITY CHALLENGE TO ROE 8
On 10 September 2015, an application was lodged in the WA Supreme Court for judicial review of the Roe 8 approval, which included allegations of :
- conflict of interest and bias;
- failure to consider alternative road alignments and 'no build' options; and
- failure to properly apply EPA policy regarding environmental offsets.
The Australian Greens called on the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment to suspend his assessment of Roe 8 until the WA judicial review is complete. Senator Scott Ludlam warned that a Commonwealth assessment based on 'the same flawed information ... as the [WA] state assessment' would expose the Commonwealth to a lengthy and costly judicial review on the same grounds as those contained in the WA proceedings.
WATCH THIS SPACE
On 27 October 2015, angry protestors attended a meeting when the Premier of WA, Colin Barnett and the Minister for Transport, Dean Nalder announced the preferred contractor for Roe 8. Conservationists and residents threatened to block construction work, which it was announced that day, would commence in early 2016.
The main issues raised by protestors is in respect to:
- clearing of native vegetation and wetlands;
- loss of foraging habitat and potential nesting habitat for the Black Cockatoo; and
- fragmentation of wetlands and fauna habitat.
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