MEDIA RELEASE

Monday Morning 9:30am

29 September 1997

Venue: "Drivers Triangle" between South Dowling, Fitzroy & Flinders Streets Surry Hills.

Contact: Adam Nelson or Murray Matson 02 93264453

ANTI-EASTERN DISTRIBUTOR ACTIVISTS OCCUPY CRANE

At 5.40am this morning three anti-motorway protesters from LinkUp locked themselves to heavy equipment on one of the Eastern Distributor construction sites.

Police arrived at 6:05 and began cutting through the protesters’ welded steel "lock -on"

devices .By 7:30 am the three activists were arrested. A fourth protester was also taken into custody, bringing the total number of arrests over the last three weeks to 26.

The site is at the triangle of roads known as "Drivers Triangle" just to the north of the main Moore Park compound.

The project has been dogged with criticism and protests by community and environmental groups, such as LinkUp, ever since the RTA publicly exhibited the plans last year.

A large banner saying "Rail not Road" has been dropped of the side of a crane to higlight the need for a comprehensive and integrated public transport system.

Randwick Councillor and LinkUp spokesperson ,Murray Matson said,

"Sydney is becoming a more polluted and car dependent city as

successive state governments blindly allow the RTA to build more

motorways when what is really needed is public transport."

Another LinkUp spokesperson ,Adam Nelson stated,

"The Eastern Distributor is not only disastrous for Sydney’s

transport system and local environment, it is a disaster for the

global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emmissions and

climate change.