Greens spokesperson for WestConnex Jenny Leong has called on Premier Mike Baird to immediately clarify the authorship of the WestConnex Updated Strategic Business Case, to allay serious concerns that the lack of attribution is so that the author can avoid liability or public scrutiny if the content is found to be flawed.

“Before we have even begun a detailed assessment of the 320 page, heavily redacted, WestConnex Updated Strategic Business Case, it’s clear that there is a glaring omission: there is NO author.”

“Unlike the 2013 WestConnex Business Case Executive Summary, which was attributed to the Sydney Motorway Project Office, this latest Business Case is not attributed to any individual, organisation or department.

“Given the only identifiable marker on the document is a generic logo - “NSW Making it Happen” – it falls to the Premier to clarify who in the NSW Government is responsible.

Yesterday around one hundred residents directly affected by the $16.8 billion WestConnex tollway came to Parliament House for debate on a ‘Stop WestConnex’ petition – which demanded the release of the business case. Today the NSW Baird Government released that much delayed business case.

More than 10,000 residents from across Sydney and NSW signed the ‘Stop WestConnex’ petition, which called on Premier Mike Baird to halt work on WestConnex until the full business case has been released and a parliamentary inquiry has been conducted.

Greens MP for Newtown Jenny Leong, who sponsored the petition, led the debate, congratulating the community for their tireless campaign.

Ms Leong said: “The fact that the business case has finally been released today is the result of continued pressure from community members, local businesses and local councils who have come together to raise concerns about this polluting tollway.

Today I was proud to introduce a petition signed by more than 10,000 people opposing Westconnex. The Greens stand with the community in opposing this wasteful and harmful project. 

Thousands of residents have made submissions to the WestConnex M4East Tunnel Environmental Impact Statement.

Those submissions have raised concerns with a range of issues that will have negative impacts on communities across Sydney, including traffic co0ngestion on local streets, destructions of bushland and greenspace, destruction of heritage listed buildings, increased carbon emissions and air pollution and the forced eviction of hundreds of people from their homes.

Today I asked the Premier to explain the delay in the release of the WestConnex business case that the Government had committed to publicly releasing in mid-2015?

Today Member for Newtown and NSW Greens Spokesperson for WestConnex Jenny Leong highlighted ongoing community concerns around the works happening at sites contaminated by asbestos that are part of the proposed WestConnex project.

Today we asked the Premier what action is being taken to protect residents, workers and business owners from exposure to asbestos as a result of WestConnex at the Alexandria landfill site, in Granville and along the route of the M4 East widening, given reports that contractors are not adhering to safety procedures?

On Saturday 3^rd October Member for Newtown and Greens Spokesperson for WestConnex Jenny Leong joined the snap action at the Alexandria Landfill site in St Peters.

The site is contaminated with asbestos and residents are rightly concerned about its safe removal.

Jenny joined Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon and community groups including No WestConnex and the WestConnex Action Group to highlight the many community objections to the WestConnex dirty tollway project.

Media Release – 23 September 2015

Last night at the Marrickville Council Mayoral vote Labor councillors, including the Member for Summer Hill Jo Haylen, aligned with conservatives to secure themselves the mayoralty and vote in a pro-WestConnex Liberal Deputy Mayor.

“This is clearly a bad outcome for our progressive community – to have the Labor Party once again reject the offer from the Greens to work together to take on the roles of Mayor and Deputy Mayor,” said Greens Councillor and Mayoral candidate Melissa Brooks.

Media Release – 18 September 2015

WestConnex: One Gaffe too many from Gay