Lobbying must be a team effort

THERE are often times in our communities that well-meaning authorities will look to execute a plan.
The plan will be determined as having value for the greater good.
Heavy rail was one of those projects, deemed to be in the national interest, and still is if the government can find a cost-effective solution.
Problem is, such large-scale projects can also come with side effects, adverse conditions for local communities.
In the case of heavy rail, about 40,000 homes would have been impacted by noise created by large coal-carrying carriages, along with other freight.
When the project was first announced, locals Suz and Stan Corbett took up the early battle. That was 8 years ago.
Had it not been for their persistence, it’s possible that the mayor and other officials would not have understood the velocity of the situation.
While it takes courage for people to stand up to big corporations carrying out a political brief, it also takes courage for politicians to join that fight, whenever that might occur.
While the ongoing efforts of the Corbetts sparked a bigger, broader campaign, they rightly have acknowledged the efforts of the mayor to protect his city.