The North East Link Project advertised a four hour community pop up session at Bulleen Plaza to be held last Thursday afternoon, March 12. Residents were told that NELP personnel would be on hand to “answer any questions on the project.”
However, residents who did attend Bulleen Plaza could not locate the pop up session anywhere in the shopping centre. Inquiries made of the centre management revealed that the North East Link Project cancelled the session the day before. The pop up popped out. And without telling people who were previously advised of the session.
What was going on? It may be surmised that the mounting bad publicity that Big Build projects, including the North East Link, are receiving was a major influence. Headlines in The Age newspaper last week, including “Big Build projects a gangland ‘honeypot’” and “Taxpayer fund projects with links to bikie gangs” were perhaps too much. So, keeping the promise to “answer any questions on the project” proved unbearable.
Many Bulleen residents are being badly affected by noise and air pollution issuing from the North East Link works. Hasn’t it occurred to the Allan Government that people who deserve relief from these appalling impositions would want to speak about them? It seems the government doesn’t want to properly confront these issues either.
Or do we have to wait until May 15 when the next pop up session is scheduled at Bulleen Plaza?
24 March 2025