Anyway it looks like his westconnex buddies have busted the sewer lines.
This just came from my newsfeed. Sadly a bit late to check this area as I am a bit tight atm and Mike and his greedy property Urban Growth buddies is moving wayyy too quickly on destroying Sydney.
They are doing asbestos demolition even while the kids nearby are still at school. The contractors promised before that demolition would start after the school break.
But I think the best bit is the fingerpointing between sydney water and westconnex while the sewage pipes leak. Your taxes at work!
For those that explore the drains here around st peters there might soon be some interesting smells and substances...
Sewage in the Street
By Wendy Bacon
Leaking sewage in the street inside the boundary of the WestConnex St Peters interchange project has been left exposed as Sydney Water and WestConnex contractors each claim the other is responsible for cleaning up the brown sludge running along the gutter.
The leak was first observed by residents last week near a warehouse when WestConnex began demolishing this week.
On Tuesday 13 December, a resident who saw the leak registered a complaint with WestConnex and was told it had been reported to Sydney Water, and that it had nothing to do with WestConnex.
St Peters resident Tricia Di Croce told City Hub that she also saw the sewage on Tuesday and reported it to Sydney Water, who told her it had been investigated and found to be the responsibility of Westconnex.
“Sewage on a public road with high traffic movement opposite a park is a huge concern,” said Ms Di Croce.
Later on Tuesday, Ms Di Croce attended a information session, at which WestConnex communications and environmental staff insisted that WestConnex was aware of the leak and had no responsibility whatsoever for it. One staff member admitted however that there was conflict between Sydney Water and WestConnex over the issue of responsibility. This reporter was present during these conversations.
After the session, Ms Di Croce told City Hub that she again spoke to Sydney Water and told them about the WestConnex statements, and was again told it was definitely not Sydney Water’s responsibility and the agency doesn’t have the resources to perform clean-up ‘of someone else’s problem’.
Ms Di Croce also reported the issue to the NSW Environment Protection Agency (EPA) which said it would investigate. City Hub has put questions to WestConnex, Sydney Water and EPA and has received responses from Sydney Water. As other responses are received, the story will be updated.
Ms Di Croce said she was shocked that WestConnex contractors now in control of the highly contaminated St Peters Interchange site are “deliberately and continuing avoiding direct questions about the whole project. When questions are asked about important health and safety issues, representatives are not equipped to answer questions.”
Residents had also noticed that an air monitoring station had been removed from St Peters, but have been unable to find out why it was removed.
This incident highlights the complex compliance issues around all WestConnex projects which have been approved on the basis of hundreds of conditions. This is almost impossible for the public to monitor, as the Sydney Motorway and contractors consider that as private companies they have no obligation to reveal information, or that other WestConnex contractors are responsible for problems.
For example, Westconnex was forced to stop tree destruction in St Peters in September only because residents and City of Sydney could directly observe the contractors were working outside the boundary, and without an arborist tree report . They reported it to NSW Planning and the contractors ceased work.
Also last week President of Save Ashfield Park group co-convenor Paul Jeffery received written confirmation from a NSW Planning compliance officer, that as a result of his complaints that WestConnex trucks had damaged public parkland at Reg Coady reserve in Haberfield, the M4 East project team had been issued with an “official caution” under the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act (Criminal) for breaching a planning condition.
Another complaint about WestConnex breaching a protection zone near the Green and Golden Bell Frog breeding pond at Arncliffe has still not been resolved by the Department of Planning, months after it was lodged.
However, all these actions have been taken only when residents and campaigners have made direct observations. It would seem very likely that given the tight security around sites, many other breaches are never reported, some of which could involve endangering community health.
The lead partner is both the Stage one M4 East and Stage 2 New M5 projects is CIMIC, who has been granted billions of dollars of contracts by the Baird government despite being under investigation both domestically and internationally for corruption.
Meanwhile, St Peters resident Mr Van Ngo has been held in prison since last Friday when he was forcibly evicted from his home by RMS, and was later arrested by police after he returned to his previous home.
While the police told media that Mr Ngo was carrying a knife, video of his removal from the house shows that he was not violent but was very distressed, and calling out that he would be homeless. Mr Ngo who was forcibly placed in the police van by a number of police could be heard calling out that he wanted to climb in himself. Mr Ngo will appear in court again on Friday and his lawyer will again apply for bail that has so far been refused.
By Wednesday this week, a demolition sign was placed on Mr Ngo’s old house, which is close to St Peters public school. City Hub has been contacted by St Peters public school and holiday care parents, who have lodged complaints with NSW Planning that they were told by WestConnex that demolition definitely would not start until January.
Mr Ngo is one of more than a thousand people who have been forced from their home by RMS. City Hub is aware of other owners and tenants who were made homeless or forced into temporary accommodation. Very few have been able to find equivalent homes.
The NSW government has recognised the unjust treatment of homeowners and is offering up to $50,000 to some acquired owners. But tenants and businesses, some of which could not be reestablished elsewhere, have mostly received nothing.
In response to questions from City Hub, a Sydney Water (SW) spokesperson said that the sewage came from a private service that is not the responsibility of SW. SW experts are however assisting with identifying the cause of the leak and are in communication with the occupants of the property.