Save Beeliar Wetlands federal injunction hearing 2017 (Photo: G. Bartlett).
Court Action
The State of Western Australia filed an appeal against the finding in favour of Save Beeliar Wetlands Inc (SBW) and the suspension of Roe 8 and on the 15th July, 2016 Justice Carmel McLure overturned the decision allowing the project to proceed. That the Bibra Lakes area contains mythological sites of significance for Nyungar people had been known by non-Aboriginal people since the 1970s, yet heritage registered Aboriginal sites within the road reserve were removed in 2015 to facilitate Roe 8. This contentious act was challenged, unsuccessfully, by a traditional custodian with support from the community. Following several further unsuccessful court appeals, by 16th December 2016, there was no further legal barrier and preliminary works for Roe 8 commenced, just months away from the State election in 2017.
Say No to Roe!
The two-year delay from approval in 2014 to commencement in late 2016 prevented completion of the project in the last term of the Barnett Liberal government. Over that final three months, thousands of Perth people participated in a campaign to stop Roe 8. Mass rallies were held outside Parliament and in Fremantle, with formidable crowds chanting ‘Say No to Roe!’ As work commenced, many were involved in non-violent direction action such as breaching perimeter fencing and exclusion zones, removal of survey tape, pushing over fencing and holding sit-ins outside politicians’ offices. Individual protestors borrowed from the activist repertoire pioneered in Australian forest disputes, trespassing into clearing zones, tree-sitting and locking themselves on to equipment. They were supported by large groups who provided food, supplies, technical advice and emotional support. Thousands of blue tee-shirts with the ‘Say No to Roe 8’ slogan were printed and worn by supporters not only at protests but at workplaces and social occasions.
Drone image showing cleared area west of Bibra Lake (Photo: C. Leonhardt)
Mass Protest of young and old 2017 (Photo: S. Stevens)
Peaceful Protests
Others wore small blue squares of roughly cut cloth, to represent the urban bushland fragment at threat, and Rethink the Link orange corflute signs appeared across Perth. Mass action protests were a feature of the campaign from the commencement of bush clearing in Coolbellup in January 2017 to the final clearing at both ends of the corridor just prior to the election. Weekly non-violent direct action workshops were offered from December 2016 by skilled and empathetic trainers, resulting in hundreds of people of diverse backgrounds improving the effectiveness and safety of their participation. The majority of protestors stuck to their nonviolent stance. More than one hundred people were arrested in on-site actions, but most received spent convictions. Those charged during the campaign were supported with free legal advice, fine donations, and in court backup by fellow campaigners.
The End of the Road
The campaign made effective use of multiple social media fora to disseminate information, to challenge mainstream media reportage, to recruit new supporters and to allow geographically dispersed individuals to work together as a team. A strong sense of a connected community was an important feature of the Roe 8 campaign with music, poetry, reflective writing and videos shared to maintain connection and commitment. In the lead up to the state election in 2017, campaigners tried to draw attention to the social and economic problems with Roe 8, in addition to the environmental losses. Banner drops, flash mobs, letterbox drops and theatrical interventions highlighted the wastage of public money, the prospect of a toll road and tunnel under southern suburbs and the severing of the Bibra lake community. Roe 8 was finally halted by the incoming McGowan Labor government in March 2017, but by that time, 18 hectares of irreplaceable bushland had been bulldozed through the Beeliar wetlands and woodlands. In 2021 the Metropolitan Region Scheme (Beeliar Wetlands) Bill rezoned the North Lake Reserve portion of the Beeliar Wetlands to parks and recreation.
Celebration Walk after Roe 8 project stopped in 2017 (Photo: S. Stevens)
Read more about the Roe 8 campaign:
Gaynor, A., Newman, P., & Jennings, P. (Eds.). (2017). Never again: reflections on environmental responsibility after Roe 8. Crawley, Australia: UWA Press.