KALAMUNDA REGION

Hills Issues
This section umbrellas issues regarding developments in The Perth Hills Kalamunda region.
More will be added as they come to light. If you feel an issue or group should be included please contact us: info@saveperthhills.org

Protest to Western Power's Eastern Terminal
Western Power are pressuring to build a major switching station on the Kalamunda-Mundaring border. It would necessitate clearing 20 ha. of forest, building 180 pylons along a 100 km swath from Boddington, perpetuate coal-generated electricity, and make power available power for Alcoa to start aluminium mining near the Weir. It is reported Western Power want to build the switching station in the State Forest because it's cheaper than acquiring easements down on the coastal plane. Western Power keeps getting knocked back in the public consulation process, so now they're getting heavy-handed, holding their consultation meetings by invitation only and hand-picking the delegates. They excluded all the councillors from Kalamunda Shire since the council opposes the station.

There was a protest outside the meeting Saturday morning 29 Nov. The meeting went on for 8 hours, with 9 delegates. There were 6 speakers who had been asked to give a 10 minute presentation, SETS, Bickley & Carmel Tourism Association, Climate Change, Nature Reserves Preservation Group, DEC and Allan Hill from Avon Arc. All opposed the Western Power proposal. There were nine delegates, but one refused to give legitimacy by voting. So there ended up being eight: 2 from Mundaring, 2 from Forrestfield, 2 from Hacketts Gully and 2 from Kalamunda. All 8 voted against. This means, in reality, Western Power's community consultation process for those people who will have to live with the 'tie-in' every day comprised exactly 4 Kalamunda people. More info on the SET website: http://stopeasternterminal.org.au/

"ECHO" editorial cartoon, Dec 14, 2008. It's nice to be in good company

Western Power repackages Eastern Terminal Project
After a dismal public reception for it’s plan to build a large substation in state forest on the Kalamunda/Mundaring border, Western Power has renamed the project “Powering Perth’s Communities” and is going for further public consultation.

The switching station is supposed to provide better power service for the Hills and would provide capacity for further development.

Construction will require clearing 20 hectares for the station, along with a 100 km long, 75 mtr wide, swath of forest from Boddington for the transmission line pylons. The question is, could this be built down on the flats and save precious forest?

The community are invited to write Western Power and copy the letters to their State Member of Parliament.
More information is available at SETS (Stop Eastern Terminal) website: www.stopeasternterminal.org.au

Kalamunda: Western Power Back to the Drawing Board
After 600 submissions, Western power got the message that the community doesn't want a large switching station and associated power lines in the Hills. But instead of saying they won't build it, the Western Power spokesman merely said they had bungled the procedure and would be putting together a "senior project team" to work with the community to determine the preferred model. Perhaps the preferred model is one that's someplace else. The Western Power spokesman added they "need to involve the community and take them on the journey". Hopefully it's a long and distant one.