My media work earned regular coverage for the KMFA's campaign across local and metropolitan newspapers, radio and TV news.
17 July 1995: Conservationists in Melbourne's east have seized on Premier Jeff Kennett's claim that the Victorian Government's freeway building program will not damage native bushland areas.
On ABC radio this morning Mr Kennett denied that the electoral backlash against the Queensland Government carried any significance for his government's plans for road construction.
The Goss Government suffered electorally because it was "putting a new road through a green wedge" and destroying koala habitat, he said.
The denial comes as VicRoads prepares to issue contracts for the construction of the Eastern Freeway extension through the Koonung Creek valley. Work on the Ringwood Bypass has already seen the clearing of sections of native vegetation in the Mullum valley and barrel-draining of a section of Mullum Mullum Creek.
"The Koonung and Mullum valleys represent the last slivers of wilderness remaining in eastern suburban Melbourne, " said Koonung Mullum Forestway Association spokesperson Iain Murray.
"A Melbourne Water study confirmed the status of the Mullum Mullum creek as platypus habitat earlier this year, and local naturalists have reported koala sightings in the valley as recently as last Sunday, " Mr Murray went on to say.
"Bulldozing creek valleys for freeways is not an acceptable approach to urban environment management.
"Mr Kennett's comments indicate a gross insensitivity to the community's legitimate environmental concerns."
The premier's comments follow EPA chairperson Brian Robinson's call for the protection and restoration of Melbourne's creek valleys.
"People are anxious to get wildlife back into the city," Dr Robinson said last week
"The little bits of bush that are around people feel very strongly about."
Public Rally, Sunday 8th October
10.30am, cnr Alexandra Parade and Wellington Street, Collingwood.
Expected time of arrival 2pm, intersection of Doncaster Rd and Eastern Freeway
6 October 1995: Twenty years is a long wait for a late train, but the train to Doncaster is on the move at last as the community takes transport planning into its own hands.
A coalition of community and environment groups will mark the beginning of transport week by carrying a hand-built train from Collingwood to Doncaster via eastern freeway. The median of the freeway was reserved for a rail line in the 1970s.
"A train service with a comprehensive and synchronised bus system is a much preferable transport package to the destructive and discredited freeway option," said Koonung Mullum Forestway Association President Howard Tankey.
"Common sense and overseas experience say this train must be built, and not the freeway."
The train will depart with encouragement from speakers Professor Bill Russell and Paul Mees. Professor Russell's 1991 report concluded that public transport was the only sustainable transport solution for the eastern corridor. Paul Mees is the president of the Public Transport User's Association.
"Templestowe, Bulleen and Doncaster are the only substantial suburbs in Melbourne without a fixed rail service," said Mr Mees.
"Other cities, including the car capital of the world, Los Angeles, are building new train lines. Public transport is faster, cleaner and cheaper. Why not rail to Doncaster? "
The rally has received support from many environment and community groups. The Australian Conservation Foundation, Save Albert Park, Yarra Residents Association, Anti Ring Road Organisation, South Richmond Residents Action Group, Coalition Against Freeway Extensions and the Public Transport User's Association have all endorsed the push for a train to East Doncaster.
The Koonung Mullum Forestway Association calls on the Government to withhold the issuing of contracts for the eastern freeway extension and start planning immediately for the construction of the Doncaster rail line and the protection of the Koonung Creek valley as a state park.
Public meeting, Sunday 26 November
10.30am, Koonung valley, Sweyn Street, North Balwyn. Melways 46 K2.
The Parklands Code banner will be unfurled at 11.45am.
24 November 1995: A public meeting in the Koonung creek valley this Sunday will mark the beginning of a campaign to put urban bushland preservation and sustainable transport on the agenda for the coming elections, say the meeting's organisers.
Koonung Mullum Forestway Association (KMFA) president Howard Tankey said that urban environment issues such as the eastern freeway extension would play an important role in determining the outcome of the State and Federal elections.
"The result of the recent Queensland election clearly shows that voting behaviour can be influenced by controversial road projects,'said Mr Tankey.
"With the Kennett government's plans to push the freeway through the Mullum Mullum valley - confirmed koala habitat - we have an almost identical situation."
At the meeting, the Greens Senate candidate, Professor Peter Singer, and Democrat candidate for Deakin, John Siddons, will outline their parties' policies for transport in the eastern suburbs.
Federal and state parliamentarians and ALP candidates for Deakin, Chisholm, Box Hill, Mitcham, Warrandyte and Bayswater have also been invited to the meeting.
Peter Cronin from Save Albert Park will oversee the unfurling of the massive Parklands Code banner. The Parklands Code, endorsed by over forty Victorian community and environment groups, including the KMFA, was launched at a public rally in Albert Park last month.
Mr Tankey said that his group would continue to resist the construction of the eastern freeway. "The fight to save the Koonung and Mullum Mullum valleys is far from over," he said.
"And with the recent launch of Environment Victoria's 'Smog Busters' program in Ringwood, the massively destructive freeway projects planned for Melbourne's east are set to become a ticking time bomb for the state government."
4 January 1996: Conservationists have vowed to continue their camp site protest in parkland earmarked for the Eastern Freeway. As of this Saturday [January 6] people will have successfully stopped the clearing of native vegetation along the banks of the Koonung Creek for one month.
Koonung Mullum Forestway Association spokesperson Iain Murray said the group would mark a month of occupation with a "protest gathering" in the valley on Saturday.
"We are determined to stop the Victorian Government from vandalising any more bushland," he said. "The occupation of the Koonung Creek Park will continue for as long as the ill conceived freeway threatens the area. We won't be packing up and going home now."
"Sleeping under the stars, playing cricket, cooking on the open fire and early morning bush walks make the occupation a very pleasant way to protest. It's a good place to come for a summer holiday in the middle of the Eastern suburbs."
The Koonung Mullum Forestway Association (KMFA) believes that the Eastern Freeway will do nothing to improve traffic congestion in the area. They say that more public transport improvements such as the train to East Doncaster are needed.
"Sustainable transport and urban bushland conservation will be major issues at the state and federal elections," said Mr Murray.
"The 'green vote' may be the deciding factor for who wins some of the key seats in the eastern suburbs. The KMFA will support political parties that have the long term future of Melbourne and its bushland in mind."
Protest action
7am Saturday 17 February
Koonung Creek valley
Enter via Jackson Avenue, Box Hill North
Melways Ref A7 A3
16 February 1996: Protestors camped on parkland earmarked for the eastern freeway will mark 70 days of continuous occupation with a protest action this weekend.
They say that some of their number may be willing to be arrested to prevent further damage to native bushland areas in the Koonung Creek valley.
A spokesperson for the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association, Mr Iain Murray, said that the 24 hour occupation, which began on December 9 last year, would continue until the machines were called off.
"For nine weeks now we have watched as VicRoads' machines slowly tear up more and more of our park, " Mr Murray said. "With the bulldozers closing in on this last remnant of native bush the time for direct action has come."
"Loss of bushland and open space, increased air pollution and greenhouse emissions are just some of the ill effects that this project will inflict upon all Melbournians.
"Far from reducing traffic congestion, the freeway will entrench car dependency while undermining public transport, the only viable solution to congestion."
The KMFA's call for a halt to the freeway has been supported by Green and Democrat candidates for the forthcoming state and federal elections. Democrat candidate for the federal seat of Deakin John Siddons said last week that if elected he would seek Commonwealth heritage protection for the Koonung and Mullum Mullum Creek valleys.
27 March 1996: Local conservation group Koonung Mullum Forestry Association (KMFA) claimed a minor victory at Box Hill Magistrates Court on Monday when police withdrew charges against two Ringwood Bypass protestors.
Felicity Lang and Iain Murray were charged with trespass after a protest at the Bypass site on 29 April last year.
The charges were withdrawn after questions were raised regarding the authority of a prosecution witness to issue warnings on behalf of the site's occupier.
While pleased that the charges had been dropped, Mr Murray said that nothing would compensate for the damage that construction work had done to Mullum Mullum Creek.
27 March 1996: A public meeting this Wednesday will address urban planning and environment issues associated with the proposed eastern ring road.
Nicholas Low, a senior lecturer in environmental planning at the University of Melbourne and Bronwen Machin, from Environment Victoria, will speak at the meeting.
A spokesperson for the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association, Mr Iain Murray, said the meeting had been organised in response to recent expressions of support for the ring road from Maroondah commissioners.
"The commissioners were put in place to perform an administrative, caretaker role. It is improper for them to advocate such massive change on behalf of residents."
Mr Murray said that the scale of freeway construction planned for eastern Melbourne is "truly frightening".
"If the council has its way, Ringwood will be the point of convergence for three major freeways. It is vial that the community be fully aware of the environmental consequences of this new threat."
The meeting, entitled "Don't Ringroad Ringwood", will be held on 3 April, 7.30pm at Ringwood Library.
30 August 1996: Conservationists opposed to government plans to push a freeway through the Mullum Mullum Creek valley say the completion of a 1 km section of the road may prove an unexpected bonus for their campaign.
Stage one of the Ringwood bypass, constructed at a cost of $33 million and featuring pink concrete sound walls over four metres high, will be opened on Tuesday [3 September].
But on Saturday [31 August] KMFA supporters will conduct their own ceremony, marching down the road bearing silhouettes of koalas, platypus and other wildlife they say will be endangered if the next stage of construction is allowed to proceed.
Association spokesperson lain Murray said that the road had been promoted to the local community as an environmentally sensitive project.
"Now that stage one is complete, the community can judge for itself just how 'green' this road is," he said.
"VicRoads have assisted our campaign by giving us concrete proof that there is no environmentally sensitive way to bulldoze a creek valley."
Mr Murray said that construction works had involved relocating 250 metres of Mullum Mullum creek to an underground concrete channel. Bypass contractors felled century-old manna gums to make way for construction, breaking a wildlife corridor that stretched from Croydon to the Yarra.
Despite guarantees that the environmental impact of construction would be minimised, water quality tests carried out for VicRoads showed that sediment levels in Mullum Mullum creek breached State Environment Protection Policy limits by as much as 1,600 per cent during construction, Mr Murray said.
VicRoads and bypass contractors Roche Bros were subsequently issued Environment Protection Authority (EPA) infringement and abatement notices and fined for polluting the creek. The EPA's action coincided with the release of a Melbourne Water study confirming the Mullum Mullum Creek's status as platypus habitat.
Mr Murray called on Roads and Ports Minister Geoff Craig to distance himself from his predecessor Bill Baxter's "misguided commitment" to further freeway works in the valley.
"The Mullum Mullum bushland is a living record of the landscape that once inspired some of Australia's best known and loved paintings. To push the road any further into the valley would be as criminal as trashing an original by Roberts or McCubbin."
Protestors will meet at the Ringwood Lake Soundshell, near Maroondah Highway at 10.15am on Saturday 31 August.
2 September 1996: Official embarrassment is behind VicRoads' decision to abandon a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the completion of a $33 million road project in Melbourne's east, according to the opponents of the project.
Stage one of the Ringwood bypass, which features pink concrete sound walls over four metres high, will be opened to traffic tomorrow [3 September].
But the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association (KMFA) says that fear at management level over negative community reaction to the project's questionable aesthetics and poor environmental record means the road will be opened without ceremony.
A spokesperson for the KMFA, Mr lain Murray, said that the road's construction had involved the felling of century old manna gums and the barrel-draining of a250 metre section of Mullum Mullum Creek.
He said that run-off from the site had caused sediment levels in the creek to soar, breaching EPA limits by up to 1,600 per cent during the first seven months of construction.
Sixteen people were charged with trespass during the road's construction. "Local people put their bodies on the line time after time during four months of peaceful direct action against this road," Mr Murray said.
"The lack of official enthusiasm at its completion is a tacit acknowledgement of the project's monumental failings."
Mr Murray said that VicRoads response that "you can't open everything," was "ludicrous, considering that last year a pedestrian bridge over the eastern freeway was thought important enough to warrant a ribbon-cutting ceremony."
He said that the completion of the project might well prove an unexpected bonus for the campaign to protect Mullum Mullum Creek valley from plans to extend the eastern freeway through sensitive bushland areas.
"This road has been promoted to the local community as a showcase of VicRoads' environmental credentials.
"Instead, it will stand as concrete testimony to their monumental disregard for the wellbeing of the urban environment."
13 September 1996: Local environmentalists have backed Whitehorse Council's call for measures to limit the impact of the eastern freeway extension on the City.
But the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association says that better public transport is the key to containing the effects of increased traffic volumes.
Association spokesperson lain Murray said that "the best opportunity to avoid traffic chaos in Whitehorse was lost when contracts for the construction of the freeway were signed earlier this year".
"However, Commissioner Oscar's calls for a management strategy should be supported."
Mr Murray said that local and overseas experience showed that road expansions inevitably raised traffic volumes, "particularly where they run parallel to a well patronised public transport service."
"Further extension of the eastern freeway will attract even greater volumes of traffic, at substantial cost to the environment and to liveability," he said.
Mr Murray said that the State Government's transport strategy, Transporting Melbourne, acknowledged the need to make public transport the "mode of choice".
"While traffic calming and demand management have a role to play, a comprehensive upgrade of public transport services must form the core of any strategy to contain traffic increases," he said.
"At 92,000 trips per day, the Belgrave-Lilydale line already carries more journeys than the eastern freeway. More frequent services and better coordination of trains and buses would ease traffic congestion by giving even more people the chance to leave the car at home."
But, according to Mr Murray, a heavy or light rail link to Doncaster was needed to "fill the gap" in the eastern suburbs transport network.
"People in Doncaster have been waiting for a rail link for almost a century. lt's time they had access to the level of public transport service most people in Melbourne can take for granted."
6 January 1997: Commissioners of municipalities in Melbourne's northern and eastern suburbs are set to adopt a ten year road strategy endorsing controversial road projects just weeks before the return of councillors.
The North Eastern Metropolitan Regional Roads Strategy' initiated by VicRoads and commissioned by six councils including the City of Maroondah, at a cost of up to $80,000, was released in draft form last month.
According to the draft, "the first priority for the region is to expedite delivery of ... the eastern freeway extension to Ringwood (including the Ringwood Bypass stage 2)".
It also recommends "further investigations" into an additional arterial route passing through Ringwood North and an "upgrading of circumferential road capacity across the Yarra River".
It is expected that the final document will be jointly endorsed by the cities Maroondah, Manningham, Whitehorse, Banyule, Nillumbik and Yarra Ranges in mid-February.
The content of the strategy has angered local environmentalists, who say that the timing of the document's finalisation is designed to short-circuit community opposition to the controversial projects.
Koonung Mullum Forestway Association (KMFA) spokesperson Iain Murray said the strategy bypassed major environmental concerns and ignored non-road alternatives, describing it as "a crude attempt to force a false consensus on transport that favours VicRoads' narrow agenda over and above all other considerations".
"Despite a requirement within the study brief that environmental issues be taken into account, the recommendation that councils endorse the extension of the freeway to Ringwood has been made without any consideration of the irreparable damage this will do to the biological values of the Mullum Mullum Creek valley," he said.
"And while the councils are prepared to lobby for hundreds of millions of dollars worth of freeway projects, the alternative offered by comparatively modest, but far more cost-effective public transport improvements has not been acknowledged. "
Mr Murray urged Maroondah's commissioners to delay any decision on the road strategy's adoption until after the March elections.
4 February 1997: Environmentalists have called on the State Government to "come clean" on its intentions for freeway development in the east following the release of a report investigating the economics of a "North East Access" road between Ringwood and Greensborough.
"Economic and Urban Impact of a Metropolitan Ring Road" was prepared for VicRoads by FDF Management in September 1995, but has only recently been released. It contains an assessment of economic and land use impacts of the Western Ring Road, Scoresby Freeway and a "notional" North East Access freeway between Ringwood and Greensborough.
The report's release has fuelled fears that Ringwood could become the point of convergence for three separate freeway developments.
Koonung Mullum Forestway Association spokesperson Iain Murray said that the existence of the report contradicted assurances by VicRoads and the State Government that the north east link was not under investigation.
VicRoads spokesperson Kiren Badesha told Leader newspapers [Diamond Valley News] in December 1995 that there were "no further investigations" being carried out into the north east link at that time.
The State Government's draft Transporting Melbourne strategy, released last September, stated that any investigation into the link would involve "close consultation with the community" and that the north east section of the Ring Road would "use existing transport links for the forseeable future".
But the FDF report indicates that at the time of its preparation, VicRoads was aiready seeking federal funding for both the Scoresby Freeway and the North East Aceess section of the ring road.Â
Economic projections within the report assume that construction of the North East Access road will commence in January 2003 and be completed by 2011.
The State Government has indicated its intention to link the eastern freeway to stage 2 of the Ringwood Bypass, but no timeframe exists and no funding has been allocated for the project.
An environment effects study for the Scoresby freeway is due to be completed by the middle of the year.
27 February 1997: A study of biologically significant sites within Maroondah has warned that a "massive increase" in local extinctions of flora and fauna may be inminent.
"Sites of Biological Significance in Maroondah", prepared for Maroondah City Council by environmental consultant Dr Graeme Lorimer, was tabled at this week's council meeting.
According to the study, the Koala, Swamp Wallaby and Short- beaked Echidna could face local extinction within ten years. Without special action, a "massive loss" of indigenous plant species is also expected.
The study found that while the Indigenous tree canopy covers 5 per cent of the Maroondah's total area, only 3 per cent of land is covered by vegetation of higher than "fair" biodiversity.
Eighty-two sites classified as biologically significant at a local, municipal, regional and state level are identified for recognition within the Maroondah Planning Scheme.
One site noted in the study contains the only known occurrence world-wide of an orchid classified as a nationally significant species.
Dr Lorimer's report also predicts that road construction and widening will overtake residential development as the greatest cause of habitat loss over the next decade. The Ringwood bypass, Scoresby freeway, eastern freeway and northern arterial road are identified as "threats of imminent significant damage to Maroondah's biodiversity" .
Meanwhile, the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association is impressed with the level of environmental awareness displayed by Maroondah's council candidates in response to a survey on local conservation issues.
Association spokesperson Iain Murray said that two of "the principal recommendations of the Lorimer report had already been endorsed by most candidates.
"All of the candidates who responded to our questionnaire said they would work to retain Maroondah's biodiversity and protect wildlife corridors," Mr Murray said.
"That means most prospective councillors are in agreement on these vital issues, and that's a good sign for Maroondah's environment."
5 March 1997: The launch of a ten-year, collective road strategy only ten days before the return of elected councillors to six municipalities in Melbourne's north-east displays a "breathtaking contempt" for local democracy and the wellbeing of the local environment, an eastern suburbs environment group has claimed.
The Koonung Mullum Forestway Association (KMFA) says that the North Eastern Metropolitan Regional Roads Strategy, due to be launched by the Roads and Ports Minister Geoff Craige today, proposes an across the board expansion of the region's road network "without any consideration of the environmental impact of the major projects it endorses".
The strategy, which was initiated by VicRoads together with the cities of Manningham, Banyule, Whitehorse, Maroondah, Nillumbik and Yarra Ranges last year, identifies the construction of the eastern freeway extension through the Mullum Mullum Creek valley to Ringwood as its "first priority".
KMFA spokesperson Iain Murray said he was "deeply concerned" that the strategy's timing was designed to short-circuit opposition to the construction of a road through the Mullum Mullum bushland.
"Mullum Mullum Creek is one of the most intact forested waterways in the Yarra's urban catchment area. Its function as a wildlife corridor means it is able to support a greater diversity of bird and animal species than comparable habitat which is completely surrounded by urban development," he said.
"Not too many suburban backyards can claim koalas and echidnas as occasional visitors, but it's this kind of every day experience of nature that the Mullum Mullum valley makes possible."
"Studies of platypus in Melbourne's streams and rivers have found the lower Mullum Mullum supports the highest density of platypus of any urban waterway. With the most recent count recording fifteen individuals, it's only a matter of time before they start to recolonise the creek's middle reaches - if it's not under a freeway when they get there."
Mr Murray also said that the strategy, with its recommendation that "further investigations" be carried out into the "upgrading of circumferential road capacity", foreshadowed the development of an outer ring road passing through the Banyule Flats region or the Warrandye-Eltham green wedge.
Mr Craige will launch the strategy at 9am today at Manningham City Council Chambers, Doncaster.
23 April 1997: Local councillors will "wear the blame" for severing the City of Whitehorse's last biological link with the Yarra valley if the state government proceeds with plans to extend the eastern freeway through Mullum Mullum Creek, a local environmental group has warned.
The Koonung Mullum Forestway Association said this week that Whitehorse Council's unanimous endorsement of the extension went against the recommendations of the two most recent government investigations of the project and contradicted several councillors' responses to a pre-election survey on local environment issues.
KMFA president Iain Murray said that extending the freeway would "irreparably damage" regionally significant forest communities within the Mullum Mullum valley and destroy the habitat of the only koala population within the municipality.
"The Mullum Mullum valley links the eastern suburbs to the Yarra valley green belt and ultimately to the forests of the Great Dividing Range. It provides a habitat corridor for birds and animals and allows genetic exchange between different populations," Mr Murray said.
"The Creek itself supports the highest density of platypus of any urban waterway. Wildlife researchers tracking the animals say it's only a matter of time before the platypus migrate to the creek's middle reaches in Mitcham and Donvale.
"Without Mullum Mullum Creek, putting out the recycling bin each week might well be the closest you'll get to nature in Whitehorse."
Mr Murray said that when the KMFA surveyed local council candidates before the election, six of the ten councillors gave commitments to retaining present levels of municipal biodiversity and protecting wildlife corridors.
"Significantly, none of the candidates elected were prepared to answer 'no' to the question 'Will you support the protection of Mullum Mullum Creek valley from road construction?'. Councillors Helen Buckingham and Jessie McCallum, however, gave a very clear response to the question. They both answered 'yes'."
"Whitehorse is very lucky to be one of three municipalities with direct access to the most important wildlife corridor in Melbourne," Mr Murray said.
"If the new councillors want to help preserve that heritage, they need to get on with the task of working for an environmentally sustainable solution to limit the impact of traffic growth on the City. But if they want to be remembered for their role in cutting us off from the well-spring of this region's biodiversity, all they need to do is keep nagging the state government to push the road through."
10 June 1997: Manningham Mayor Bob Beynon has come under attack from local conservationists for his stance on extending the eastern freeway through the Mullum Mullum Creek valley (DT News 4/6).
The Koonung Mullum Forestway Association this week labelled Cr Beynon's call to extend the freeway "environmentally irresponsible".
Association President Iain Murray said Cr Beynon's endorsement of the extension went against the recommendations of the two most recent government investigations of the project. Extending the freeway would damage regionally significant forest communities and destroy valuable koala and echidna habitat, he said.
"The Mullum Mullum valley links the eastern suburbs to the Yarra valley green belt and ultimately to the forests of the Great Dividing Range . It's an important wildlife corridor that enables birds and animals to move between otherwise isolated pockets of bushland. "
"The Creek itself supports the highest density of platypus of any urban waterway."
Mr Murray said that Cr Beynon's support for the extension was in conflict with the City of Manningham's role in the Mullum Mullum Linear Park. The first stage of the linear park was opened by Conservation Minister Marie Tehan last year.
"If the eastern freeway is extended to Ringwood, it will open the way for the construction of the outer ring road along the lower reaches of the the valley through Park Orchards and Warrandyte," he said.
"If that happens, it's goodbye to the green wedge, goodbye to the linear park, and goodbye to all of the environmental qualities that make this part of Melbourne so special. "
Mr Murray said that Manningham could be linked to the tram network for a fraction of the price of the proposed extension. "For the full cost, we could have a fast rail link underground to Doncaster East," he said.
"It's twenty years since the median of the freeway was put aside for a future rail development, and we're still waiting for the East Doncaster train."
30 September 1997: Local conservationists fighting to save Maroondah's most vital link with the Yarra Valley are relaunching their campaign this Sunday [12 October] with a public meeting at Mullum Mullum Creek.
Tree climbers will unfurl a fourteen foot high "road hazard" sign from the valley's giant Manna Gums to mark the beginning of the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association's campaign to raise awareness about a new road project threatening up to two-thirds of the sixteen kilometre wildlife corridor.
KMFA spokesperson Felicity Lang said that the group had been fighting to protect the section of the valley between Mitcham and Ringwood from the eastern freeway for more than thirty years.
"Now that the Government has come out into the open with it's support for the construction of the eastern ring road between Ringwood and Greensborough, the stakes are higher than ever."
At the start of construction of the final section of the western ring road this month, the Minister for Roads and Ports, Geoff Craige, said that the eastern ring road could not be built until the Mullum Mullum section of the eastern freeway was completed.
A map of indicative route options prepared by VicRoads in 1994 showed the proposed ring road passing through the lower two thirds of the valley, where the creek is home to a healthy colony of platypus.
Ms Lang said that the Mullum Mullum valley supported more than 120 native bird species. Koalas and echidna are frequently spotted along the creek in Mitcham, and wallaby and kangaroo sightings are not unknown.
"Residents looking at the street directory might think that the eastern freeway just misses some important parks. Unfortunately, the reservation passes through some of the best wildlife habitat in suburban Melbourne."
"I've talked to people using the walking tracks through the bush who think the freeway is planned for somewhere else simply because they can't imagine anyone allowing the destruction of such a beautiful place."
Sunday's launch begins at 11am at Mullum Mullum Creek, near Chaim Court, Donvale.
12 October 1997: Conservationists will unfurl a fourteen foot high "platypus crossing" symbol from giant manna gums at Mullum Mullum Creek valley today as they relaunch their campaign to save the sixteen kilometre wildlife corridor from destruction.
Esther Abram, the Director of Environment Victoria, and British anti-freeway activist Jason Torrance will speak at the launch. Mr Torrance was a key player in the successful grassroots movement against the conservative government's motorway program.
The president of the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association (KMFA), Iain Murray, said that local naturalists had been fighting to protect a section of the creek valley from the eastern freeway for almost thirty years.
"Mullum Mullum Creek forms one of the last remaining native vegetation links in Melbourne, but it is now being targeted for the eastern freeway, eastern ring road and Ringwood bypass," Mr Murray said.
"The part which is under immediate threat supports more than 120 native bird species. Koalas and echidnas are frequently spotted along the valley in Mitcham, and kangaroos have also been sighted near the creek at Park Orchards."
Mr Murray said the new campaign had been sparked by the re-emergence of interest in the ring road, a project scrapped by former Premier Rupert Hamer in 1981.
A map of indicative route options prepared by VicRoads in 1994 showed the road passing through the lower third of the valley, where the creek is home to a colony of platypus.
"At the start of construction of the final leg of the western ring road last month, the Minister for Roads and Ports identified the Mullum section of the eastern freeway as the first step towards the construction of the eastern ring road," Mr Murray said.
"While the Minister claims that there is no commitment to the project, we are not going to wait until the bulldozers roll in to take action. It may be that this creek valley is all that stands in the way of the complete encirclement of our city by multiple lanes of bitumen and traffic."
13 November 1997: The State Government's strategy of focusing on local issues during the election campaign for the state seat of Mitcham is set to backfire, according to a prominent local conservation group.
The state director of the Liberal Party, Mr Peter Poggioli, told ABC Radio yesterday that the by-election would be not be fought on the issue of the auditor-general's independence, but on local issues, such as freeways.
The president of the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association, Mr Iain Murray, said that Mr Poggioli's comments referred to the allocation of funding for the extension of the eastern freeway through Mullum Mullum Creek valley, an area of regionally significant bushland known for its koala population.
Building the freeway would "almost certainly" result in the local extinction of the species.
"Echidnas, sugar gliders and more than 120 indigenous bird species are also under direct threat," Mr Murray said. The Association also holds fears for a platypus colony populating the creek downstream of the freeway reservation.
Mr Murray believes that the government will make an announcement on funding for the extension during the campaign for the Mitcham byelection.
The Director of Environment Victoria, Ms Esther Abram, said that the state government's policy on Mullum Mullum Creek was symbolic of its handling of environmental issues across Victoria.
"They have ignored both expert opinion and community concerns, and they have carried out no environmental evaluation of the project to speak of. The two most recent government investigations of the project, conducted in 1990 and 1991, recommended that construction of a road through the creek valley not proceed," Ms Abram said.
"The environment effects statement for the road - which devoted less than a page to ecological impacts - turns ten years old this month, " she said.
Mr Murray described Mr Poggioli's statement as "a desperate reponse from a party in shock. "
"We're confident that the electorate will reject this bizarre attempt at seduction by bulldozer," he said.
30 January 1998: Conservationists have responded angrily to the announcement that preliminary works for the extension of the eastern freeway through Mullum Mullum Creek valley are imminent.
The Minister for Roads and Ports, Mr Geoff Craige, said today that $3 million of preliminary works for the project would commence in February.
The president of the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association, Mr Iain Murray, said that the decision to commence work on the freeway was "a disgraceful and underhand action".
"Mullum Mullum Creek is Melbourne's most vital wildlife corridor," Mr Murray said.
"It supports a floral and faunal diversity rare in the urban environment. It is arguably the most substantial living record of Melbourne's pre-settlement landscape.
"Clearly, Mr Craige lacked the courage to announce the timing of the new works during the Mitcham byelection."
Mr Murray called on the Minister to divert the funds towards a comprehensive study of eastern Melbourne's transport needs.
"The project's environment effects statement was prepared more than ten years ago and is absurdly outdated. It describes a project which is very different in scope and impact to the six-lane freeway freeway now planned," Mr Murray said.
"Research over the last three years has found Mullum Mullum Creek to support the densest platypus population of any of Melbourne's waterways.
"Just two weeks ago we saw evidence for the first time in many years that kangaroos are once again using the valley to range through the suburbs as far upstream as Mitcham. Koala sightings in the valley are also on the increase."
Mr Murray said that the Association would seek negotiations with Mr Craige immediately.
"If they fail, we will be giving serious consideration to stepping up the campaign with a sustained program of direct action," he said.
2 February 1998: Conservationists have asked the State Government to delay preliminary works for the extension of the eastern freeway through Melbourne's most significant wildlife corridor.
The Minister for Roads and Ports, Mr Geoff Craige, said last week that $3 million of preliminary works for the project would commence this month.
"The Mullum Mullum Creek valley supports a floral and faunal diversity unknown elsewhere in the urban environment. It is arguably the most substantial living record of Melbourne's pre-settlement landscape," Mr Murray said.
"Research over the last three years has found Mullum Mullum Creek to support the highest density of platypus of any of Melbourne's waterways.
"Last month we saw evidence for the first time in many years that kangaroos are once again using the valley to range through the suburbs as far upstream as Mitcham.
The Association has written to Mr Craige seeking a delay in the works until the effects of the recently opened $250 million extension to Springvale Road can be studied.
Mr Craige's announcement comes only six weeks after the opening of the previous extension.
"There has been no opportunity to measure the effect of the new section of freeway on public transport patronage or air quality," Mr Murray said.
"The project's environment effects statement was prepared more than ten years ago and is absurdly outdated," Mr Muffay said.
"It describes a project quite different in scope and impact to the one now proposed."
Mr Murray said that the Association would establish a watch to ensure that no damage is done to the creek valley while negotiations with the Minister are sought.
"Past experience with VicRoads' policy of maximum destruction has taught us to be vigilant against destructive intrusion.
"Any evidence of harm to the valley will be met with a response from conservationists Melbourne-wide."
2 April 1998: Local conservation group, the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association (KMFA), has vowed to step up its campaign to save the Mullum Mullum Creek valley.
But the KMFA is warning its supporters not to be swayed by rumours that the freeway could be constructed as a tunnel.
The president of the Association, Mr Iain Murray, said that the final stage of the eastern freeway would form the intersection for the Scoresby freeway, Ringwood bypass and eastern ring road.
"The Mullum Mullum Creek valley may be all that stands in the way a massive wave of freeway construction that will make the Ringwood bypass look like Lego," Mr Murray said.
"lf we are going to let the eastern freeway proceed, we should make an application to the Place Names Committee to change 'Ringwood' to 'Ringroad' right away."
Mr Murray described a government spokesperson's suggestion that the government would consider tunnelling a section of the extension as "a cruel April Fool's joke".
"The danger is that they will still be 'considering' right up until they send the bulldozers in," Mr Murray said.
"Eight years ago, VicRoads admitted that the creek valley was too precious to destroy, and were prepared to hand the land over to the then Department of Conservation and Environment.
"The only way the government can avoid a full-blown campaign to save Mullum Mullum Creek is to revoke the freeway reservation and guarantee the permanent protection of the entire creek valley."
15 April 1998: The publication of the terms of reference for VicRoads' eastern freeway community liaison group has crushed speculation that the government is considering constructing the eastern freeway extension as a tunnel.
The terms of reference published today in The Age, state: "The overall scope of the freeway extension project, including the route, number of lanes and location of grade separations and interchanges, has already been determined."
The president of the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association, Mr Iain Murray, said that the advertisement was consistent with information provided to the KMFA by another departmental source.
"VicRoads have already proposed a construction timeline for the extension of the freeway through the Mullum Mullum Creek valley's sensitive bushland environment," Mr Murray said.
A spokesperson for the Premier's department had fuelled speculation by stating that the goverment would consider tunnelling in some sections of the valley, he said.
"It is now clear that when the government is talking tunnel, they are really only talking about boring their way through a part of the valley where they would otherwise blast their way through.
"The overpasses [grade separations] are a real giveaway. They would serve no purpose unless VicRoads intended to push the freeway through the valley."
Mr Murray said that the KMFA would not participate in the liaison group because the terms of reference assumed that the freeway would proceed.
"We are not going to put our energies into debating the colour of the noise walls while VicRoads is gearing up to commit the greatest single act of environmental vandalism that Melbourne will ever see.
"Our priority is to get accurate information about the disastrous consequences of extending the freeway out there into the community and to ensure that this flawed project is not permitted to proceed."
21 April 1998: The state government's failure to allocate new funding for the extension of the eastern freeway through the Mullum Mullum Creek valley has been hailed as a victory by the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association.
The president of the Association, Mr Iain Murray, said the absence of new spending on the freeway from the State Budget was a "tremendous victory for the local environment."
But the KMFA is remaining vigilant against the prospect of damage to the valley's environmental values from the $3 million of preliminary works announced in February.
"There is potential, even with the preliminary works that VicRoads is carrying out now, for quite serious damage to occur to the valley's sensitive native vegetation," Mr Murray said.
"While the freeway reservation within the Mullum Mullum valley remains in place, the creek valley is still under threat of destruction."
Mr Murray said that the Minister for Roads and Ports, Mr Geoff Craige, had told the Association that the Government would not be completing a new environment effects statement (EES) for the freeway extension.
"This means that if the road proceeds, the government will be relying on a document that is more than ten years out of date to satisfy their statutory obligation to assess environmental impacts," he said.
Mr Murray said that the new funding knock back signalled the need for local councils to adopt a change of attitude towards transport in the eastern suburbs.
"Councils have devoted considerable resources to pushing the road funding barrow on VicRoads' behalf, all to no avail."
Whitehorse Mayor Helen Buckingham's recent call for the proposed extension to be classified as a road of national significance was "irrelevant", because the project did not fit the criteria for funding under the Federal Government's national highways program, Mr Murray said.
14 July 1998: The release of the Environment Effects Statement (EES) for the Scoresby section of the eastern ring road has sparked fears that Ringwood will become an 'auto graveyard' if plans for massive road expansions are realised.
The president of the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association, Mr Iain Murray, said that traffic modelling conducted for the EES indicated that construction of the Scoresby freeway would increase traffic volumes on the proposed eastern freeway extension by up to 30,000 vehicles per day.
Maroondah Highway would also be hit by traffic snarls, with up to 20,000 additional cars and trucks passing through the town centre to gain access to the Scoresby Freeway.
"These are long term effects which will come on top of the heavy traffic that the eastern freeway will dump into Maroondah's streets," Mr Murray said.
"Current Australian Bureau of Statistics figures indicate that there is virtually no demand for long distance travel along the Scoreshy alignment. But if these projections are accurate, they show that the freeway will dramatically alter travel patterns and become a major generator of nuisance traffic."
This would create pressure to construct a freeway link from Ringwood to Greensborough through the Yarra Valley 'green wedge', Mr Murray said.
In lobbying for the extension of the eastern freeway through the Mullum Mullum Creek valley, local councils had been complicit in efforts to dump traffic in Maroondah, said Mr Murray.
"Whitehorse Council has been a major force for pushing the end of the eastern freeway out of its backyard and into Ringwood, and Maroondah has joined the push for the Scoresby in the mistaken belief that they can do the same thing," he said.
"These figures show the lunacy of this approach. With or without the Scoresby freeway, Ringwood will become the final resting place for the rest of Melbourne's traffic problems if the eastern freeway goes ahead."
15 July 1998: The environment effects statement for the Scoresby transport corridor has come under fire from conservationists for ignoring the impacts of road construction on the Mullum Mullum Creek valley.
The president of the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association, Mr Iain Murray, said that because the extension of the eastern freeway was incorporated into the 'base case' scenario, it was not subject to any economic or environmental evaluation.
"This means that the State Government intends to push the eastern freeway through sensitive bushland in the Mullum Mullum Creek on the basis of an environment effects statement which is more than a decade out of date."
Mr Murray said that Government approval for the Scoresby freeway would lead to the lower reaches of the Mullum Mullum Creek at Donvale, Park Orchards and Warrandyte being targeted for the construction of the north-eastern section of the outer ring road.
"This is on top of the destruction that the eastern freeway would wreak in the valley's middle section at Ringwood and Mitcham," Mr Murray said.
"VicRoads has been seeking federal funding for the Scoresby on the basis that it will link the south-eastern suburbs to the Hume Highway. But this can't be done without a freeway though the green wedge.
"In the plans shelved by the Government in the 1970s, the Mullum Mullum Creek valley was a favoured route for this part of the ring road."
Mr Murray said that the Minister for Roads and Ports, Mr Geoff Craige, had stated that the eastern freeway had to be extended to Ringwood before a freeway through the green wedge could be considered. (1)
"VicRoads will be relying on the 'domino effect' to overcome local opposition to a ring freeway through the green wedge. The traffic snarls created by each new section of freeway will be used to justify further construction.
"Mullum Mullum Creek is where the first domino will fall."
1 Source: McKay, Sandra. "A ring road draws closer", The Age, 15/9/97.
11 August 1998: The Koonung Mullum Forestway Association has called for a halt to preliminary work on the extension of the eastern freeway through the Mullum Mullum Creek valley following the release of an RACV survey showing that travel times on the freeway have increased since the completion of the extension to Springvale Road.
The 1998 RACV Travel Time Survey shows that travel times from Doncaster Road to Hoddle Street during the morning peak have increased by four minutes since the completion of the extension.
The RACV's figures also show that savings on travel time from Springvale Road to Hoddle Street are marginal, with the freeway providing an improvement of only two minutes over the same journey before the extension opened.
The president of the KMFA, Mr Iain Murray, said: "VicRoads has sacrificed the Koonung Creek valley and wasted $250 million on a project which has failed to make any real improvements to travel times, and actually made them worse on large sections of the freeway.
"And these are the honeymoon figures, the absolute best that we can expect to see."
Mr Murray said that that the state government had approved $3 million in funding for engineering investigations of the next stage of the extension before information on the current extension's performance was made available.
"It is extraordinary that the State Government continues to reward VicRoads for failure with new funding. It is just like giving a small child lollies for misbehaving," he said.
"With the RACV predicting that extending the freeway to Ringwood will further increase travel times, destroying the bushland of the Mullum Mullum Creek valley with another extension would be an act of utter stupidity."
23 August 1998: VicRoads has been accused of employing "sneak tactics" in its dealings with the environment following the belated release of detailed plans for the extension of the eastern freeway through the Mullum Mullum Creek valley.
An information bulletin distributed to local environment groups last week revealed that VicRoads reviewed and confirmed plans for the extension in 1995. The bulletin was announcing the beginning of "community consultation".
The president of the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association, Mr Iain Murray, said that the review of the project appeared to have been conducted in secrecy.
"This seems to be the first that anyone outside VicRoads has heard of it," Mr Murray said.
"After sitting on the plans for three years, VicRoads chose to release them the same week they sent surveyors swarming through the bush in preparation for the destruction of the valley's regionally significant vegetation."
In its bulletin, VicRoads claimed to be acting in response to "issues raised" in Dr Helen Gibson's 1990 review of the project's environment effects statement.
"The truth is that Dr Gibson recommended that no freeway construction take place within the valley. Her report said that history would judge any decision to allow the destruction of the Mullum Mullum valley very harshly."
Despite the inclusion of a short tunnelled section within the plans, the largest area of indigenous bushland in the valley - known to locals as the Hillcrest Forestway - would be largely destroyed by the freeway, Mr Murray said. The Hillcrest area supports a healthy koala population, and is known for its diverse collection of wildflowers and orchids.
"This is a backhand blow to the local residents who have been weeding and planting to preserve the Hillcrest Forestway's biodiversity for almost thirty years," said Mr Murray.
"If this is VicRoads' idea of consultation, their assurances that they will consult with the community over the eastern ring road ring very hollow indeed."
26 August 1998: A draft assessment of flora and fauna affected by the proposed extension of the eastern freeway through Mullum Mullum Creek valley has revealed the endangered status of a native vegetation community within the urban valley.
The assessment, which has also confirmed the presence of the endangered Powerful Owl, was released yesterday by VicRoads.
The president of the Koonung Mullum Forestway Association (KMFA), Mr Iain Murray, said that the assessment had re-classified the dry forest type found on the valley's upper slopes as Valley Heathy Forest.
Described in the assessment as "structurally complex and floristically diverse" and "characteristically species rich compared to other heathy woodland and forests throughout the state", Valley Heathy Forest is recognised as endangered statewide.
"Only 8.4 per cent of Victoria's original coverage of this vegetation class remains," Mr Murray said.
"But none is reserved."
Documents released to KMFA under Freedom of Information this week show that VicRoads reviewed and confirmed plans for the proposed extension in March 1995, but did not undertake any community consultation.
"VicRoads are now in a terrible bind. They reviewed and re-designed the project in apparent secrecy, quietly sought and gained approval from the Minister for Planning, and then invited public input the same week that surveyors moved into the bush," Mr Murray said.
"The so-called 'consultation' which Mr Maclellan made a requirement of his approval is tied to one possible outcome: a freeway through the creek valley, with all of the attendant environmental destruction."
Mr Murray said that the confirmed presence of the Powerful Owl was "tremendously exciting news. The consultants who prepared the assessment suggested that the Owl sighted may be one of a breeding pair."
8 November 1998: Australia's most expensive painting, Frederick McCubbin's Bush ldyll, will be re-created today within an endangered forest type threatened by plans to extend the eastern freeway.
The Koonung Mullum Forestway Association, which is fighting the freeway, will re-create the pastoral scene depicted in McCubbin's painting within a giant picture frame erected in bushland in the Mullum Mullum Creek valley.
The president of the KMFA, Mr Iain Murray, said that Bush ldyll had been painted in bushland similar to the Mullum Mullum's Valley Heathy Forest, a wildflower rich vegetation class which is now endangered in Victoria.
"Most of the bushland that inspired McCubbin and the other Heidelberg School artists has been destroyed by urban sprawl. But in Mullum Mullum Creek you get a real sense of why the open-canopied woodlands to Melbourne's east proved such fertile ground for Australian painting's most famous school."
Bush ldyll, which was painted by McCubbin in bushland at nearby Blackburn in 1893, depicts a boy playing the Irish flute to a dark-haired girl. Rediscovered by a Yorkshire farmer in 1984, the painting was sold for $2.3 million to an anonymous overseas buyer in August.
"The Minister for Planning has decided that an Environment Effects Statement is 'not warranted' for the eastern freeway, instead relying on an EES which is over a decade old and a review of the project which VicRoads conducted in secret in 1995," Mr Murray said.
While the State Government is yet to allocate funding for construction of the freeway, VicRoads could send heavy drilling machinery for geological investigation into the valley at any time, he said.
"Bulldozing the Mullum Mullum Creek valley for another pointless extension would be as criminal as trashing a McCubbin original."
Photo & interview opportunity:
10.30m, Hillcrest Reserve, Lisbeth Avenue, Mitcham. Melway 48 K5.
24 February 1999: The Koonung Mullum Forestway Association will sound the alarm over plans to encircle Melbourne with a ring of car-based development at a public meeting in Ringwood tonight.
Speakers at the meeting will include Public Transport Users Association president Dr Paul Meet, Environment Victoria's Clean Air Campaigner, Ms Bronwen Machin, and the president of the Gould League, Mr Alan Reid.
The meeting has been called ahead of the release of recommendations of the Scoresby freeway Environment Effects Statement Panel of Review in March.
In December, visiting transport expert Robert Cevero told the Panel that the Scoresby freeway [part of the ring road] would encourage the development of "edge cities" which could only be serviced by car, sucking the life out of the inner suburbs and creating a fringe of car-based development on the city's edges.
"According to Professor Cevero, the effects of suburban gridlock are worst where a radial freeway intersects with a ring freeway. This is precisely the situation VicRoads wants to create in Ringwood with the Scoresby and eastern freeways.
"Mullum Mullum Creek, which is home to the endangered Powerful Owl and a rare vegetation type also endangered in Victoria, could be targeted by VicRoads for the section of ring road between Ringwood and Greensborough," Mr Murray said.
"The ring road would also cut across the Yarra Valley and devastate the 'green wedge' to Melbourne's north-east."