Walkaway community start petition to fight heavy haulage route over concerns it will “devastate” the town

A Mid West farming community is up in arms over a proposed heavy haulage route they say threatens to wipe out homes, cut through farms and destroy native bushland. And with Parliament shutting in a matter of weeks, locals are racing against the clock to get signatures on a petition to fight it. When Main Roads released the preferred route for the Geraldton-Dongara-Northampton freight route about five weeks ago, Walkaway landowner Sarah Thurkle was in shock. On the map, directly over her family’s 23ha property, on which they have been living for 10 years, was a blue line indicating the proposed corridor. It was about 500m wide, covering about 95 per cent of the property, somewhere within which she said the 100m wide road would run. At its furthest point, the road would be 400m away from her home — where she lives with her husband and two young children — at its closest, they would lose their home completely, she said. Initially consulted about a bypass in 2015, Mrs Thurkle said they had not heard anything until about a month ago and assumed it had been scrapped. Landowners want to know why the route is not using existing roads — including the Brand Highway — in the area which runs in the same direction. Agronomist Bill Campbell, who has lived on his 4ha property with wife Julie for almost three decades, said their options were fairly bleak. “We could be within 100m of a four-lane highway or we could lose our house,” he said. He said the route cut through “prime farm land” and had farmers worried about how they would be able to operate. “They’re wondering how they’re going to get machinery across it — where the road cuts through grain-growing operations,” he said. “We don’t know what allowances are being made for that.” There are also fears it could affect access to Walkaway Primary School for almost a third of the students enrolled, who live on Arthur Road. It prompted her and three other residents to form an informal committee, which has since hosted two community meetings, the third of which is on Sunday. They will also be taking a petition to Parliament, which they started last Wednesday and got 200 signatures in a matter of days. During a meeting with WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti in Geraldton last week, City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said he made the City’s position on the southern alignment clear. “It’s staggering,” he said. “If freight is forced to use that route it will add 11km and increase freight costs. They haven’t clearly defined why they’re diverting trucks 11km east.” He said it would not only have an impact on tourism but destroy important wetlands and the Moonyoonooka store. For Teresa Johnson, who moved to the town 20km east of Geraldton with her partner and two young children in July, her major concerns were for the farmers and wildlife in the area. “Our block has a lot of native bushland,” she said. Ms Saffioti said consultation with landowners, residents, councils and shires had begun and the Government was working to provide clarity and certainty on the proposed route. “Currently it’s really about consultation, making sure people have their say and where we can — we want to minimise the impact on private landowners,” she said.