Work has started on building the Moorebank intermodal and there’s even signs along Moorebank Avenue declaring it’s the “biggest intermodal terminal in Australia’’.
But residents opposed to it have not given up hope.
RAID – Residents Against Intermodal Development – will take part in a conciliation conference tomorrow, August 17.
The conference will be held on-site at Moorebank Avenue from 9:30am and RAID is encouraging as many residents as possible to attend.
“The on-site part of the conciliation conference is also a public hearing, and we hope to have as many people as possible attend in order to show community support for our legal challenge,’’ says Jennifer French, vice president of RAID.
In a note emailed to members of RAID, Ms French said that last week the Land and Environment Court had reserved its decision following a hearing into a legal action brought by intermodal proponents Qube.
This was a motion to dismiss the RAID appeal against a major planning decision for the Moorebank intermodal.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“The surprise of the day was that the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, the first respondent to our legal action, spoke quite strongly about the development consent itself,’’ Ms French said.[/social_quote]
“In relation to the motion to dismiss, the department was in favour of people having their voices heard in connection with planning proposals and that groups of people who wanted to appeal a planning decision frequently formed themselves into a formal association in order to bring an appeal, which RAID had done.
“The department considered the planning decision under appeal to be defective, due to the presence of five threatened plant species, including the plant previously thought to be extinct, the Hibbertia Fumana.
“This is indeed a strong statement by the department.
“We now await the court’s decision,’’ Ms French said in her note to RAID members.
President John Anderson, Jennifer French and Erik Rakowski attended the hearing on behalf of RAID.
Mr Anderson told the South West Voice this afternoon that RAID is also still pushing hard for pollution monitoring equipment funding.
Liverpool Council will consider the request for funding from the Moorebank Intermodal Committee.
Mr Anderson, who is on the committee, has urged council to support the bid for funds.
