“We are trying to keep at least 10 people there at a time to keep an eye on things,” embassy representative and Bulahdelah local Malcolm Carrall said.

It was relocated last month after police and RTA officials moved in and served them with an eviction notice.

With no plans to give up the fight, the tent embassy was moved to its current location near the base of the guardian tree - one of the sites of indigenous cultural heritage in the path of the bypass.

The bypass will include 8.6 kilometres of four lane divided road with interchanges (entry and exit points) to the north and south of town.

Protesters can’t understand why the RTA has pushed ahead with Option E (one of five shortlisted from an initial 14) to the east of Bulahdelah on the slopes of The Alum Mountain.

They say it is more dangerous (due to possibility of rock falls and traffic having to slow down up the slope); more expensive; and the most destructive (to rare and endangered plants and animals and to indigenous and European cultural heritage).

Embassy representatives including Adele Wade say RTA’s claim that Option E is the preference of the broader community is ludicrous.

“No community surveys or workshop involving the general community were ever conducted.”

Much of the consultation has been between RTA and the Community Focus Group set up in April 2000, a month after the first community information evening was held to discuss the project.

But by the time the next community information evening was held in December 2001 the preferred option had already been announced.

Along the way the RTA has sent out newsletters to households and held site tours but as many people have observed the route choice seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

The RTA website says that Option E was chosen with five weighted categories in mind.

They are, listed from the most important, that the bypass: improves the efficiency of travel, safety and accessibility; improves environmental quality outcomes; achieves environmental sustainability outcomes; achieves acceptable socioeconomic and financial outcomes; and achieves acceptable design and engineering and constructability outcomes.

So according to the RTA website (go to www.rta.nsw.gov.au/ constructionmaintenance/majorcons tructionprojectsregional/pacifich ighwayupgrade/ bulahdelah and follow further links) Option E was selected as the preferred route because of its good relative performance against the selected criteria.

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