Please support our cause by donating via the link. Donations of any size are greatly appreciated as every dollar helps. Thank you.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
It has been a long journey for our group, and we were devastated by the decision in the Federal Court in December 2022.
Since that time however we have not been quiet, and we continue to be a thorn in the side of MRWA.
Our advocates in Parliament, Dr Brad Pettit (WA) and Senator Hanson-Young (Federal) have been asking questions of the government and demanding information. Please take 5 minutes to watch as Senator Hanson-Young places the Environment Minister and the Infrastructure Minister on notice for failing to produce documents demanded by the Senate-
https://fb.watch/jmnatR7-l5/?mibextid=RUbZ1f
Dr Bob Brown continues to advocate on our behalf and hold the Minister for the Environment accountable - read his latest article in the Saturday Paper here-
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/.../how-tanya...
At the time of writing MRWA is still to get approval for their new updated Fauna Management Plan or their Offsets Plan.
And yet, the Bulldozers are circling the remaining high-quality habitat for our precious Black Cockatoos, Black Stripe Minnows and Western Ringtail Possum, and we have been told they plan to recommence clearing soon.
Our legal team has strongly recommended an appeal against the judgement in December and we now have been given an appeal date on May 18th, 2023.
We really need your help.
Please consider writing to the Federal Environment Minister and demand an adequate acceptable offset plan, and updated Fauna Management plan with improved protection for the possums, is publicly available before any further clearing. We have created a template if you would like to use it *
Please consider writing to the Federal Minister for Infrastructure demanding public accountability for the extra $320 million in funding given just before the last Federal Election.
We have created a template if you would like to use it *
Click on the buttons below to go to the templates
And finally-
Our amazing legal team has offered to do the Appeal work pro bono……
But - We must fly them to Perth and provide accommodation for the hearing.
If you could please donate just $10-50 dollars towards these costs it would be a huge help. Information to donations via this link:
https://www.friendsofgelorup.com/take-action
Thank you so much for everything to date
To find out more about our upcoming fundraising events, please head over to our event page.
Sadly the destruction of the beautiful Gelorup Corridor has began
LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBER’S LETTER TO EDITOR
(Sent to SW Times’ “Letters to the Editor” but never published)
2.8.22
Destruction of precious, biodiverse bushland in the Bunbury Outer Ring Road Southern Section has begun this week, but its future is still not certain. Questions about the legality of official decisions made, lies and false declarations in formal documents, and of apparent non-compliance with conditions on approvals, are serious, and need testing urgently.
A group formed 27 years ago to inform the WA government that the route through Gelorup was not only inappropriate, but unacceptable on many good grounds. In all those years, not one member of either state or federal governments, other than an outgoing backbencher, has ever met with the community group in the corridor – a disgraceful stain on both major parties.
During those 27 years, the Gelorup group and its supporters spoke up, and submitted thousands of documents, photos and videos in public comment periods and other scenarios, but not once has been heard. Main Roads WA (MRWA) continued to insist on using the outdated corridor through Gelorup, which is far too narrow for a safe and four lane freeway now, let alone in 50 years’ time.
About 160 kms of the highway is almost all on cleared farmland, whereas only the last 3 kms through the Gelorup community and bushland is different. By stubbornly continuing to push the road through these 3 kms, despite 1, 600 hectares of cleared land close by (with over 30 alternative routes), MRWA is planning a sub-standard road which is only about half the width of the other 157 kms, and is not wide enough for a train reserve (necessitating a new corridor being sought for future rail) or for a vegetated median strip (concrete barriers with higher crash risks), or for a shared multi-use path required in all modern highways.
Protected fauna and flora are being destroyed, and the community of Gelorup deeply affected (up to 40 households losing their dream homes), as I write. If you have concerns about these and other issues, urgently email Tanya Plibersek, federal Minister for the Environment, and ask her to do her legal job.
John Sherwood OAM
Bunbury WA
Friends of the Gelorup Corridor inc.
The Friends Of The Gelorup Corridor Inc. (FOTGC) are a group of like-minded, passionate residents within the Shire of Capel who care about the environment we live in and want to see it maintained for future generations.
We acknowledge the Wadandi people who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we live and seek to preserve. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.
Quizmas in July held at the Gelorup Hall on 24th July 2021 was a great success
Our Cause
Gelorup is not just home to a Private School and a Monastery – we also have the Gelorup Corridor, which is an environmental sanctuary where many species of native flora and fauna thrive (including several endangered species). One of those species is the critically endangered Western Ringtail Possum, which is one step away from extinction. The Bunbury Outer Ring Road (BORR) Southern Alignment will bulldoze straight through 71 hectares of native vegetation, and we are trying to save it.
We are not against building a bypass which is necessary to cater for the growing tourist and residential traffic and the increase in trucks on our roads. But we are strongly opposed to the Government’s insistence that the BORR is to be built in a narrow and unsuitable (environmentally sensitive) corridor that follows a plan which is over 40 years old.
Times have changed since the ‘70s. We have become aware of the importance of preserving the habitat for the protection of the critically endangered flora and fauna such as the Western Ringtail Possums, 3 species of threatened Black Cockatoos, sensitive Banksia Woodlands, sites of Indigenous significance and registered ancient giants which are all present in our backyards and along the corridor. And, it is important to note that people were permitted, by the local council of the time, to build in an area which is now being reclaimed for the building of the BORR.
This may seem just like a local issue, but the problem is a much larger one. It is known internationally that Australia has one of the highest losses of species worldwide. This was a fact even before the recent catastrophic bushfires, which have now resulted in the additional destruction of our precious environment. The construction of this road is not an act of nature. It is a deliberate decision, made by our government to destroy a unique nature corridor that cannot be replaced. Surely it is the responsibility of our government to identify this as a serious issue.
For the future of our children and our children’s children, our leaders need to put in place a long term sustainable solution for our rare and endangered species. Saving the Gelorup Corridor would be a commendable step in the right direction.
As a community group we strongly oppose the building of this freeway in its current alignment through the Gelorup Corridor for both social and environmental reasons. Together we aim to build community awareness, communicate with decision makers and support those most affected.
