Whilst making my first documentary, Bypassed: The Erosion of our Cultural and Environmental Landscapes, I worked with the Tweed Aboriginal Community and several environment groups in Bundjalung Country, Northern New South Wales. I also became the President of the Tugun Cobaki Alliance, fighting against a proposed Bypass which was going to destroy an important cultural and environmental space, the Murraba landscape. This is an article from the Daily Mail, published during that time, circa 2006. Excerpt:
“[Magali McDuffie] said that barely four months off the deadline for completion of the primary conditions for approval of the bypass, the compensatory habitat package had yet to be finalised. ‘Furthermore, another condition of approval was that the area surrounding and directly above the tunnel - protected wetlands - should be revegetated to its original state. The Abi Group was penalised last year for polluting protected wetlands and ordered to pay $30,000 in costs for the offence of polluting waters in the Brunswick River during the construction of the Yelgun to Chinderah freeway. So why shouldn’t citizens be worried about what is happening to the Tweed River and Cobaki Lakes?’.”
