CASE STUDY 3: ROE 8, PERTH, WA
No recent state-government decision has incited so much anger in suburban Perth as the go-ahead for Roe 8. This highway extension, part of the larger Perth Freight Link project, was planned as a 5km dual-carriageway that would ostensibly ease traffic congestion on the Leach Highway by diverting heavy trucks more directly to the port of Fremantle. Besides questioning the necessity of the $540 million project, locals were incensed that the immediate casualty would be the Beeliar Wetlands, an important part of the remaining ecosystem in an area that’s seen decades of development.
Rachel Pemberton, a Fremantle local councillor and strong advocate of creating liveable urban environments, says she has never seen such an outpouring of local passion. Ordinary people, many of whom had no prior involvement in public protests, stood in the way of earthmoving equipment in attempts to stop early assaults on the integrity of the wetlands. Police have been called to the site numerous times, including in early February, when 38 protesters (along with Rachel) were arrested for civil disobedience after handcuffing themselves to machinery.
The political bulldozer in this conflict, says Rachel, was an obstinate and inconsiderate state government – led by the recently deposed Liberal MP Colin Barnett – that revived 50-year-old plans to extend the highway. “The plans are now out of date,” says Rachel, who claims residents’ very reasonable demands for living space and respect for one of Perth’s last natural habitats have been ignored.
“One of the key issues facing all Australian cities in the future is to switch thinking,” says Rachel. “It is 20th-century thinking to solve road congestion first without thinking more deeply about the consolidation of urban planning, public transport and a balance of open space. “[The Beeliar Wetlands] are an incredibly unique asset in a suburban area,” says Rachel. “They are precious to our community and it’s about time consideration was given to other transport solutions.”