“DIGNITY and respect, our land our future” was the theme for Manning Alliance’s meeting last Wednesday night which saw more than 200 people gather at the Wingham Town Hall.
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The meeting was called to update residents on the progress of the Alliance and what to expect next with TransGrid anticipated to make further announcements on its high voltage power line project in September.
Numbers of supporters at the meeting were high, despite TransGrid’s announcement at the end of July that corridor one is the preferred route for the high voltage powerlines.
“Even though the corridor option has been announced, it’s great to see people see it as a much broader issue,” the Manning Alliance’s Bruce Robertson said.
“We are building community spirit. People are concerned about their neighbours and their friends,” Manning Alliance chairman, Peter Epov said.
A motion unanimously passed on the night saw the meeting call on the NSW state government to instruct TransGrid to totally abandon the Stroud to Lansdowne high voltage power line project and the Tomago to Stroud high voltage power line project.
The Alliance will now focus on detailed land holders’ rights workshops and the development of a land holder’s action plan to assist residents if TransGrid decides to acquire land for easements.
Wednesday’s meeting was the fourth hosted by the Manning Alliance about TransGrid’s project since the beginning of the year.
“We’ve come a hell of a long way with this issue. We will not give up, the battle continues,” Manning Alliance member David Rankin said.
Mr Epov acknowledged the investment of time key individuals have given in efforts to halt TransGrid’s proposed project.
Bruce Robertson’s investigation into the inaccuracies of TransGrid’s statistics was also praised at the meeting.
The Manning Alliances statistics and argument the project is unnecessary has since been picked up by national media outlets. This had led to the assertion by Sydney Morning Herald’s Business Day column that TransGrid’s statistics are misleading.
Mr Robertson’s presentation on the night, ‘fanciful forecasts’, looked at why the Stroud to Landsdowne project is not needed.
The last meeting for the Alliance was held mid May. Since then the Alliance has hosted 17 free land holders’ rights workshops which were attended by 350 people.
Six thousand people have signed the Manning Alliance’s petition which opposes TransGrid’s Stroud to Landsdowne power line project.
