Time for protesters to move on

It is time for the East-West Link protesters to stop disrupting lawful work on this very important project,” says VECCI Chief Executive Mark Stone.

“No one has the right to interfere with another person’s right to attend and perform their daily work free from harassment or the right of a business to engage in lawful operations, but this is exactly what the protesters continue to do. They are also continuing to divert the resources of the Victorian Police away from core operations and are placing the individual police officers in attendance in very difficult and unpleasant circumstances.

“There is nothing wrong with protesting as long as it is done peacefully, lawfully and does not infringe upon the right of others to engage in lawful activity.

“It seems incredible that at a time when workers in the vehicle manufacturing industry and its supply chain face an uncertain future, a small group of protesters seek to delay work on a project that will create thousands of jobs and improve the lives of commuters and business operators alike for decades to come.

“VECCI maintains its strong support for the East-West Link and wants the road in its entirety built. This includes the next stages that would link to the Port of Melbourne and the Western Ring Road. With closures of the Burnley and Domain tunnels for maintenance and the annual works on the Westgate Bridge due to commence shortly, the need for a second river crossing of Melbourne is self-evident. VECCI also supports the Melbourne Metro Rail tunnel, the removal of level crossings, the development of the Ports of Melbourne and Hastings and the completion of the Western Ring Road upgrade as part of a suite of major infrastructure projects of fundamental importance to securing Victoria’s long term prosperity.

“There are legitimate ways to protest that don’t impact on the right of others to go about their work peacefully. It is time for the noisy minority disrupting the East-West project to recognise and respect this.”

www.vecci.org.au 

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