A day before the official opening of the M5 East tunnel, residents braved the weather at the foot of the stack in Turrella Reserve to celebrate their small win in the battle for clean air.

The agreement struck between RAPS and the RTA on Wednesday night allowed the RTA to open the tunnel, despite the fact that the monitoring system was not fully in place. As part of the agreement, the RTA will increase the speed of the fans in the stack to allow for better dispersal of the unfiltered emissions for 6 months, while a committee, made up of the RTA, EPA, RAPS and their independent air quality expert (funded by the RTA) review and agree on better ways of measuring the air quality data.

RAPS spokesman, Peter Siapos said: “This has been four years of a sustained fight which is not over yet. Only the threat of litigation has led to this agreement. We didn’t get the first prize –no stack, or second prize, filtration. We got the third prize, and a new round of negotiations and we are prepared to go to the next stage. The agreement goes a good part of the way, and we continue our commitment, whatever it takes for us to continue living safely here. This is a happy community which is determined to stay a happy valley, despite its new 35 metre neighbour, and if we can improve things for others at the same time that will be great”.

Mark Curran, RAPS spokesman : “We have had a breakthrough. We really believe we have a way forward. With more accurate monitoring, we will know what the health impacts are. We already know that filtration must be fitted as soon as one exceedence occurs. This agreement gives us some breathing space, and a better basis for future decisions.”

The attendance of Paul Willoughby RTA Communications Manager, was a welcome, tangible sign of more cooperative relations between the RTA and the community. This was the second time in four years that an RTA representative had officially attended a meeting: “While we obviously don’t agree on everything, this historic agreement is significant in that we are working towards co-operation. There is a basis to move forward. I do not challenge the right of the community to insist that actions of government don’t jeopardise their lives. The RTA has not been too good at communication and will try to improve. We have learnt lessons out of the last few years for other road projects”.

RAPS celebrated the “Champion Team” of residents and supporters from all sides of politics (except for the Labor Party) with a Stack cake, which they quickly demolished.

To view our photo gallery, please click here.

RAPS Contacts: Peter Siapos: 0414891525, Mark Curran: 9558 8863, Giselle Mawer: 0411 107 153, Ricc Rossi: 0402 336211, Charles Briers: 0407 022242