Drill Occupied: Tunnel Picket Friday

Ash and Toby settled atop the drill

Arriving at 5.30am, I learned that a call had gone out earlier and that two picketers had scaled the drill. Within a short time the Search and Rescue team arrived to bring them down.

Attaching the harness to Toby

The young men put up no resistance and Toby was the first to be removed.

Only one to go

He was soon followed by Ash. The protestors received a rousing round of applause as they left the cage - by the protestors, not the police. Ash said later that the Search and Rescue workers had been pleasant this time and were so physically strong that one of them picked him up as easily as if he were a baby.
We settled down to doing what we usually do, and today there was a good piece of news to share. Yesterday it was announced that Lend Lease, one of the main potential tenderers for the East-West Link, had withdrawn from the contentious project to build a coal port at Abbot Point in Queensland. Perhaps this international company has finally concluded that environmentally damaging projects, which attract a lot of negative public attention, are just not worth their while. If that is their reasoning, maybe they will reach the same conclusion about the Tunnel. The drills will stand abandoned and silent, and will be circled peacefully by birds and hot air balloons. I can but hope.

Early morning view

But until that perfect day dawns, we stand watch as the drillers resume their work:

And are heartened by the ever-increasing number of toots from passing motorists.