The community involvement objectives for this project are to:
- Create stakeholder and community awareness of the need for upgrading work;
- Understand stakeholder and community issues, values and concerns related to the project;
- Create stakeholder and community awareness of each phase of investigation, from the development of preliminary route options to the environmental impact assessment process;
- Incorporate stakeholder and community issues into each phase of investigation, from the development of preliminary route options to the completion of the environmental impact assessment process; and
- Assist stakeholders and the community to understand the route selection process and environmental impact assessment.
Community activities are outlined below.
Toll free 1800 line
A toll free 1800 line has been established so that the community can contact the study team to discuss issues of concern, request information or register a comment.
The toll free number is 1800 688 153.
Community interest group
A community interest group has been formed to provide input into the detailed design and construction phases of the project. The notes from the meetings are available by clicking on the link below.
Newsletters and advertisements
Newsletters are produced at various stages throughout the project to provide information on the project.
Advertisements are placed periodically to inform the community of developments in the project. They appear in the Manning River Times, Myall Coast NOTA, Great Lakes Advocate, Port Stephens Examiner and Newcastle Herald.
Click on the links below for previous newsletters and advertisements regarding the Bulahdelah upgrade.
Community information evenings
The first community information evening was held on 20 March 2000 at the Bulahdelah School of the Arts Hall. The evening was attended by over 250 people.
At this meeting, community members were invited to nominate for a community focus group (see below).
Another community information evening was held after the announcement of the preferred route on 12 December 2001. At this meeting the preferred route was discussed.
Community focus group
Formed in April 2000, the community focus group was made up of members from the local community. The group met regularly with the study team to discuss various aspects of the proposed route in detail.
The goal of the community focus group was:
To assist the project team to investigate the preferred option for the Bulahdelah upgrade of the Pacific Highway, to best achieve the desired Pacific Highway and community objectives.
The group developed their terms of reference and agreed to:
- Represent local community groups and issues;
- Share issues and concerns relevant to the project, as a group;
- Be able to seek information from the study team about the investigations;
- Provide input to the various studies required for the investigations; and
- Provide accurate points of contact for the community to discuss the project.
An additional term was agreed to in December 2001
- To refine the Pacific Highway preferred option that is based on the 'option E' alignment.
There have been 14 meetings to date. The notes from each meeting are provided below.
Stakeholders and sub-groups
Some issues required more detail and lengthy discussions with particular stakeholders. These issues included:
- Aboriginal heritage.
- European heritage.
- Drainage and flooding.
- Local economic issues.
- Plants and animals, (flora nad fauna).
Representatives from local Aboriginal organisations were involved in a liaison group that met regularly to discuss Aboriginal issues relating to the project in greater detail.
Landowners directly affected by the proposed route met with the RTA study team on specific issues throughout the process.
The RTA study team met with local business groups to discuss issues regarding the economic well-being of Bulahdelah and the potential impacts of the route options and the preferred route. The study team also met with local groups and other individuals concerned about the impacts of the proposal.
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