The Roe 8 Highway construction envelope overlaid on Beeliar Regional Park (Base Image: Landgate WA)
Roe Highway Origins
The origin of the Roe Highway was the 1955 Stephenson-Hepburn report, which included a modernist highway system based on private car transport that formed the basis of the 1963 Perth Metropolitan Regional Scheme. Sections of the Roe Highway were built over the following 50 years, but several changes were made to the southern sections. Plans to demolish parts of heritage Fremantle for Section 9 were abandoned in the 1970s, as was the Fremantle Eastern Bypass in the 1990s. The proposed route of Section 8 (Roe 8) through the Beeliar Wetlands had long been contentious but remained road reserve even as Beeliar Regional Park was declared in 1997. Groups such as the Beeliar Conservation and Heritage Council and The Cockburn Wetland Centre were among those who continued to oppose Roe 8.
Perth Freight Link
At the beginning of 2001 one of the first Say No to Roe mass rallies was held at Bibra Lake just prior to a state election. Roe 8 was shelved by the state Labor government that year, many believed permanently, until resurrected by an incoming Liberal government in 2008. This threat led to the formation of the community advocacy group, Save Beeliar Wetlands (SBW), who continued to hold rallies and started guided walks through the road reserve. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) recommended approval of the project in 2013, appearing to contradict its own policies on offsetting critical environmental assets. In 2014, the threat became very real as Roe 8 was included as part of a larger project called ‘The Perth Freight Link’, with major funding contributions by both State and Federal governments. Although intended to link northern freight yards to the port of Fremantle, it was dubbed ‘The Road to Nowhere’ because, with the Roe 9 sections partly developed for housing, it was unclear how traffic would get from the end of Roe 8 at the Stock Road intersection to the port.
Rowena the Perth Freight Link white elephant at parliament 2015 (Photo: Rethink the Link)
Save Beeliar Wetlands Fremantle Festival parade in 2015. (Photo: R. Loopers)
Rethink the Link
From 2014 the supporters of the Beeliar Wetlands engaged in an intense campaign to prevent Roe 8 being built, with the campaign group Rethink the Link forming the following year. In 2015 the newly incorporated SBW filed a legal claim in the Supreme Court challenging the approval to construct the proposed Roe 8 extension through the Beeliar Wetlands (Save Beeliar Wetlands (Inc) vs Jacob). The basis of the case was that the (EPA) had failed to take into account its own policies and guidelines when giving advice to the Minister who approved the project. On the 16th of December, 2015 Chief Justice Wayne Martin found in favour of SBW (Inc) and Roe 8 was put on hold. The Premier said that he would repeat the environmental approvals and all parties expected that the decision would eventually be overturned.