Showdown looms as Western Highway protesters stay put
Fears of a showdown with police and security are now rising after protesters ordered to move from the Western Highway project area refused.
Victoria
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Melbourne protesters who joined Aboriginal activists blockading a $157 million road upgrade in western Victoria have been fined for breaching COVID-19 laws.
But fears of a showdown with police and security are now rising, after protesters ordered to move from the Western Highway project area refused.
Up to 15 people have been slapped with fines at the upgrade site, which is between Ararat and Buangor where several fatal crashes have occurred.
For more than two years protesters have refused to move from their campsites, saying the area is culturally significant, costing taxpayers millions.
State and federal governments say the route was already shifted at vast expense to protect several trees identified by Indigenous groups as sacred, while a September 29 deadline for works to recommence has passed.
Police have ordered the activists they need to move on, with a video posted by supporters of the Djab Wurrung Embassy showing a recent standoff.
The Djab Wurrung Heritage Protection Embassy said in a separate post that one person was arrested for trespassing and police were “twisting their man made laws to suit their agenda”.
A government spokesperson said that Traditional Owners in the area — including the Eastern Maar group — had been consulted and had approved the altered route.
“We’ve listened to the relevant Traditional Owner Groups every step of the way — the project’s design has been approved by both relevant groups, an independent Environment Effects Statement process, the Supreme Court, the Federal Environment Minister and the Victorian Ombudsman.”
“With more than 100 crashes on the Western Highway in recent years, including 11 deaths, we’re getting on with this urgent safety upgrade that will save lives.”
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