Crunch time for giant Moorebank container terminal plan

Intermodal container terminal crunch time is fast approaching for Liverpool residents who happen to live east of the Georges River.

The independent NSW Planning and Assessment Commission (PAC) has announced that it will make a decision on the $1.1 billion proposal for Moorebank after holding public hearings on February 1 and 2.

If approval is given, south west Sydney will eventually be home to one of the world’s busiest shipping container terminals.

When fully operational, the Moorebank intermodal will be the hub of more than 1.5 million container movements every year.

They will all come from Port Botany on freight trains, but leave for their final destination in south and west Sydney on the back of trucks.

Part of the plans include the construction of a bridge over the Georges River to connect the Southern Sydney Freight Line (SSFL) to the proposed intermodal terminal in Moorebank Avenue.

The plans also call for a new flood free crossing over the river at Cambridge Avenue, Glenfield, as well as carving a new road through Hurlstone Agricultural High School that connects the Moorebank intermodal to the Hume Highway.

Local residents who have been fighting a rearguard battle for more than 10 years to stop the proposal have expressed outrage and anger about the short notice for the PAC’s public hearings in Bankstown Golf Club.

Residents Against Intermodal Development (RAID) chairman John Anderson hit out at the date of the hearings, so early in the new year.

[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“Not only are some people still away on holidays, but there is so much at stake here for our local residents and all of south west Sydney you’d think there would have been more notice given,’’ Mr Anderson said.[/social_quote]

The RAID chairman confirmed residents were scrambling to organize a public meeting in Wattle Grove before the PAC hearings.

“We have not been given much of a fair go here, but that doesn’t mean we will stop fighting,’’ he said.

“We will go to the PAC hearings armed with a lot of information that shows this intermodal should not go ahead.’’

The most likely date for a public meeting by the Wattle Grove lake is in the afternoon on Sunday, January 24, but it is not yet confirmed.

It is also unclear how long PAC will take to make up its mind after the two day hearings on February 1-2, which will kick off at 10am on the first day.

PAC was established under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act in 2008.

It is independent of the NSW Government, the Minister for Planning and the Department of Planning and Environment.

♦ Its functions include:

• To determine applications for major developments under delegation from the minister;
• To review any major development including conducting of public hearings; and
• To provide independent expert advice on planning and development matters.

Local residents who would like to speak at the PAC hearings must register before 1pm on January 28 by phoning 9383 2112 or emailing pac@pac.nsw.gov.au with your name and phone number so PAC can confirm your registration.

If you have any questions about the public meeting process or the commission’s role with the project, contact the officer assisting the commission, Jade Shepherd, on 9383 2114.

For more information, including details of the intermodal proposal, visit the PAC website here.