Road rage

By Danielle Galvin
LANDOWNERS in Kooweerup and surrounds say they have “been through hell” as they wait to hear if and when their land will be taken over for the town’s bypass.
In what is looming as a “Castle-style” battle between home owners and government authorities, residents are gearing up to fight for their houses and land.
A heated meeting last week saw farmers and landowners from Pakenham South and Kooweerup question when the bypass would be built and when their land would be compulsorily acquired.
Most had already been visited by VicRoads representatives.
One resident remarked at the meeting that he had “been through hell” for the past four years as he waited to hear if and when his house would be acquired.
VicRoads project director Charlie Broadhurst fielded questions from angry residents devastated at the prospect of losing their homes and livelihoods.
“We won’t come onto your property and throw you out,” he said.
“We will negotiate with people’s particular circumstances.”
Duffy and Simon lawyer Damien McKenna told residents they should seek legal advice when they received a notice to acquire their land. The acquisition process is expected to start early next year.
“There’s two ways that the government can acquire your land,” he said.
“One is like what we saw in The Castle with Mr Kerrigan, where the Federal Government can acquire your land. The other is through the State Government.”
Young mum Belinda Dicker, who moved to a 38-acre property in Kooweerup three years ago, said VicRoads told her that her property would need to be the first acquired to make way for the bypass.
The family has three businesses on the property and moved from Narre Warren South.
“It’s a brand new home that we built,” she said.
“We’ve just put $60,000 worth of fencing on the property – that’s all going to waste.”
At the meeting one resident remarked that landowners would always lose when government authorities acquired land. Ms Dicker agreed.
“There’s farmers around us who have been there for 60-odd years and they can’t just pick up and relocate to town,” she said.
“That’s their reputations gone – there was no compassion or consideration for us at all.”
One property has already been acquired for the bypass but Ms Dicker said an early acquisition wasn’t an option for her family.
“I’ve done a bit of research and if I applied for acquisition under hardship, it’s like a normal private sale and we’d miss out on compensation and stamp duty,” she said.
The family tried to auction their Railway Road home two years ago when VicRoads started knocking at their door but the property failed to sell at a reasonable price.
“As soon as people heard about the bypass the auction went dead and no one was interested in it,” she said.
“They will be acquiring it in a down market but two to five years down the track the market will be up again.”
Earlier this month Treasurer Kim Wells announced an extra $16 million for the bypass, on top of the $50 million allocated in last year’s budget.
Kooweerup’s Gwen Lengersdorf attended the meeting and said the bypass had been on the cards for 12 years. She said she and several other residents welcomed the road but that there wasn’t enough information available for those affected.
“I felt that there was a little bit of apprehension of where exactly it’s going to go in the town,” she said.
Bass MP Ken Smith and Eastern Victoria Region MP Edward O’Donohue attended the community meeting on Thursday night alongside about 60 residents.
Mr Smith said the State Government had shown its commitment to the project.
“We’re all going to be a part of something very big,” he said.
Mr O’Donohue told residents that environmental approvals needed to be sought before construction could begin mid next year. He said there was still a way to go.
“We’ll be conducting our own information sessions and consultations,” he said.
“We’re acutely aware that this can be a challenging process.”