APA actions above board

I write with reference to the opinion piece by Tony Windsor (Tony Windsor, “The case of the trespassing strangers”, December 9-15). Mr Windsor referred to APA land access and field survey team members who recently undertook survey work in the Coonamble region as “trespassers”. This has no basis in truth.

Since early August, APA has been undertaking a range of field survey work in connection with the proposed 460-kilometre Western Slopes Pipeline. Where access to private property has been required, it has been undertaken either with formal landowner agreement or in accordance with the terms of the Authority to Survey issued by the New South Wales minister for energy and utilities in June. It should also be noted that APA has not received a single complaint from any landowner about alleged “trespass” incidents. The police in attendance at the scene had been pre-briefed on the planned survey activities by APA. They did attend the scene, but only after it became increasingly clear that the field survey team, to use Mr Windsor’s own words, “became trapped” by the assembled crowd.

The hostile events described by Mr Windsor at the farm gate in Coonamble were unfortunate and unnecessary. I can assure the community APA remains committed to working with landowners and other stakeholders in the region in a constructive and collaborative way. – Rob Wheals

Group Executive Transmission APA Group