The Hunter Environment Lobby will join Save Our Rail at Thursday’s meeting with the Premier Mike Baird.
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They are among the community groups that will sit down with stakeholders at the Honeysuckle meeting to discuss Newcastle’s future, but the rail proponents will push for a stay of execution.
“[The government] has made it pretty obvious in the papers that they won’t back down, but I’ll be appealing to their better nature,” lobby president Jan Davis said.
“They’re trying to do something that is totally unpopular with people in the Hunter.”
The Premier’s office issued the invitation to Ms Davis last week.
Ms Davis is a Maitland resident and a Greens member.
“I often tell people they should respect politicians, but it’s hard when they fly in the face of the facts and when they aren’t transparent about cutting the rail line,” Ms Davis said.
SOR president Joan Dawson said the group would ask Mr Baird not to remove any infrastructure until after the election.
“Premier Baird has said the government will be open and transparent,” she said.
“If they destroy the line, any trust they have will be destroyed too.”
Mr Baird will also meet with the Hunter Business Chamber on Thursday.
He will be the guest speaker at the chamber’s quarterly infrastructure update over lunch.
“During the Premier’s visit next week he will also address the Hunter Business Chamber on issues relevant to the entire Hunter Region,” a spokesman for the Premier said.
But he will not visit Maitland during this trip.
“The Premier last visited Maitland in July and he looks forward to returning in the near future,” the spokesman said.
“The NSW government is proud of its achievements in Maitland, which include the commitment of a new hospital and improvements to the New England Highway.”
Letter campaign on track
Hunter Environment Lobby has collected more than 600 letters in the past month from commuters on the Hunter rail line who object to plans to cut the tracks at Wickham.
The letters, addressed to the Premier Mike Baird, open with three paragraphs that outline why the line should be maintained, beneath which commuters write why they disagree with the government’s decision.
“We’ve been active getting letters written on the train,” lobby president Jan Davis said.
Her members have ridden the train most days this past month and have collected an average of 50 letters on each journey.