1. Eastern Distributor blockade. Police negotiate with LinkUp protestors occupying ‘scrapper’ building diversion road in Moore Park compound. 20 activists scaled the perimeter fence 8.00am and rushed the machine forcing it to stop.

Media Release

Thursday 28/7/97

Distributor Protests Resume At Moore Park

Anti-Eastern Distributor protests resumed at Moore Park on Wednesday morning.

Randwick Greens Councillor Murray Matson reported that ‘LinkUp’ supporters scaled the perimeter fence at about 8.00 am and occupied two large earth moving machines forcing them to stop.

Police arrived with a special rescue van soon after but held back from intervening after reaching a negotiated agreement that the protesters would voluntarily leave the site at 10 am.

Cr Matson stated that the civil disobedience was justified because the RTA did not asses alternatives to a road option as should have been required in the Environmental Impact Statement written for the project.

He said,

"Residents of the Eastern Suburbs are being robbed of the option of a better public transport system through this blind commitment by the Carr Government to building more privately owned motorways."

The construction company Leighton is trying to build a diversion road through the centre of Moore Park on behalf of the Airport Motorway Consortium who will own and run the tollway.

CONTACT: Randwick Greens Councillor Murray Matson