The trees are still standing and the 5.7km deviation has not begun! Phew!

BUT signs of imminent work are appearing. 

KORS is writing to newly elected politicians, Federal and State, to inform them of the planned environmental disaster on Western Highway, Buangor to Ararat, and this is where we need your help.

The destructive route was chosen using a flawed official environmental report. Six years on, larger areas of native Grassy Woodland have been identified. Eight years later an extra 32.34 hectares of Golden Sun Moth habitat have been approved for destruction These two new data points tips the scales even further towards an alternative route.

KORS is working against the unnecessary deviation and the $4 million, over-engineered on and off ramps giving access to sleepy Hillside Rd.

We’ve researched what we think has to be the best alternative, but there may be others and any route must be assessed by a public body. We are asking for that proper review. 

The traffic volume on the 12.4-kilometre stretch of highway is not high and the fatality rate is very low, allowing time for a review.  Is upgrading the highway really more urgent than basic maintenance on the whole highway? The new Rural Roads Alliance calculated that neglected road maintenance Australia-wide needs $5.5 billion over four years.

How you can help.

Now is the time to send an email asking for a route review.  We need to show politicians there is support from voters for this.

New member for Ripon: 

martha.haylett@parliament.vic.gov.au

Minister for the Environment

ingrid.stitt@parliament.vic.gov.au 

Recently Martha Haylett invited the Minister for Roads and Road Safety to visit Ripon and view for herself the condition of the roads. An email to Minister Horne encouraging her to accept Martha’s invitation to Ripon and see the extent of the planned destruction along the Option 1 route will help:

Minister for Roads and Road Safety

melissa.horne@parliament.vic.gov.au

Please email Minister for Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, and ask her to withdraw the EPBC Approval 2010/5741, for Section 2B of the Western Highway Duplication Project (Buangor-Ararat).  The planned route is very destructive, the destruction is unnecessary, and the approval was gained from faulty data. Her job is to protect things, not rubber stamp over further loss.

Minister for Environment and Water

minister.Plibersek@dcceew.gov.au

Here is a letter to State Ministers for you to copy and paste. Please personalise your email with a short comment.

Dear Minister,

I am asking you as a member of Government to do the sensible and right thing on the Western Highway upgrade, 2B Buangor to Ararat. Please approach the Planning Minister to initiate a short review of route selection for this project.

The Highway duplication is claimed to follow the least impact route but:

the planned route has around 10 times greater volume of emissions-intensive earthworks, it splinters the land into more islands separated by a large new road and is less safe to construct, compared with dismissed route options.
it destroys four-fold as many Large Old Trees
disturbingly, the planned route bisects a DjabWurrung precinct, passing close enough to the precinct’s birthing or habitation tree for rubbish from passing traffic to be thrown into the tree’s hollow.
it destroys many times more Golden Sun Moth habitat than a researched alternative route. 
the area of habitat for the Golden Sun Moth now approved for destruction has doubled since the route was chosen, with more habitat acknowledged in 2021. 
it destroys over 20 hectares more native vegetation and it destroys patches of a critically endangered Box-Gum Grassy Woodland* 
it cuts six natural corridors

The researched alternative route:

saves trees  
avoids the DjabWurrung precinct
is shorter and flatter, so needs far less earthworks with significantly less emissions
is safer to build
is nine months faster to build because it has many fewer truck movements - we have an unchallenged affidavit from an experienced engineer confirming these last three points
saves at least $25 million at usual funding rates, or $60 million using the Government funding figure of $153.9 million. It is cheaper because it uses more of the existing highway, and avoids an extra bridge, heavy excavations and wet areas.
satisfies Major Roads’ safety specifications for a high-speed road.

Yours sincerely, 

______ ________