Police may forcibly remove Aboriginal protesters camped out next to a highway in western Victoria as early as this week. So how did a simple road duplication project come to this?

Key points: The first sod on the project was turned in 2010

The first sod on the project was turned in 2010 Protesters have been given an ultimatum to leave by this Thursday or risk arrest

Protesters have been given an ultimatum to leave by this Thursday or risk arrest The Premier says arrests will be "regrettable" but the project needs to begin

The $672 million effort to widen the main road link between Melbourne and Adelaide has stirred up a hornet's nest of infighting and allegations for nearly a decade.

The ceremonial sod-turning on the first stage of roadworks to duplicate the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell was performed by then-premier John Brumby in April 2010.

But legal action, bureaucratic bungles, and protests about culturally significant trees have repeatedly stalled the project.

The safety question

Victoria's roads department has always maintained the need to upgrade the highway came down to safety.

"The current road is two lanes with vehicles travelling in two directions," Major Road Projects Victoria program director Tim Price said.

"We've got vehicles travelling in each direction separated by a white line and sections of the road that have quite tight corners."

The authority said there had been 11 fatalities on the Western Highway between Ballarat and Stawell since the beginning of 2013.

Buangor resident Roger Louder lives beside the highway, on a property that borders the Langi Ghiran State Park, and he said it needed to be built to improve safety.

"I have to access and exit that highway at least twice a day every day of the year," he said.

"It's not a back lane country road. This is the main highway for trucks, for daily commuters, for tourists.

"This is one of the major roads in Australia; thousands of people a day [use the road] and they're risking their lives."

MairiAnne Mackenzie wants the Government to review the planning approval for the highway. ( ABC News: Charlotte King )

Fighting for the 'northern option'

Upgrades to the 12.5-kilometre section south-east of Ararat have been the most controversial, in part because the surrounding bushland will be cleared to add an extra lane in each direction.

There is general consensus on the need for the road to be duplicated but there is contention around the chosen route, which veers south-west of the existing highway through farmland.

That route cuts through property owned by sheep farmer MairiAnne Mackenzie, who has been vehemently opposed to the project since the beginning.

"You don't do this sort of thing for fun," she said.

"Why would anyone dare go up against the State Government if they didn't have a strong case?"

Ms Mackenzie and her Keep The Original Route Supporters group have long advocated for the road to be duplicated through the alternative northern route that follows the existing highway, arguing this would be cheaper and have a lesser environmental impact.

It was considered by authorities but ultimately ruled out for environmental reasons; the Government claimed this route would lead to 3,000 trees being cut down, in place of 8,000 trees through Ms Mackenzie's preferred option.

But the road authority's decision-making around this has come under repeated scrutiny.

In 2016 it was forced to acknowledge its own planning errors after a consultant review commissioned by the Government found the environmental data that underpinned the highway's approval was flawed and significantly underestimated the number of large old trees that would be cut down under either route.

Ms Mackenzie's Supreme Court action calling for a judicial review of the project's planning approval remains in limbo.

Aunty Sandra Onus has been leading protests to protect trees she says are culturally significant. ( ABC Ballarat: Sian Johnson )

Djab Wurrung stand their ground

Concerns about the cultural significance of trees that were to be removed along the Government's chosen route were under the spotlight after authorities tried to start work on the project in June 2018.

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Elder Aunty Sandra Onus and Zellanach Djab Mara set up the Djab Wurrung Heritage Protection Embassy to prevent the upgrades and it has maintained a presence at the site for 14 months.

The group argued the site was sacred and home to traditional birthing trees that had been used for generations by Aboriginal people.

Ms Onus described the landscape south-east of Ararat containing "a wealth of Aboriginal artefacts and heritage" and trees up to 800 years old.

Mr Djab Mara said he viewed the highway's route as "an attack on our women and children's birthing ground".

In March this year, the Government announced its intention to start work on the project and police, including mounted and riot officers, blocked off roads and surrounded about 100 protesters.

Although arrests were expected, police withdrew from the area and the project remained in limbo.

Lidia Thorpe supports the protests over concerns about Aboriginal cultural heritage. ( ABC Ballarat: Sian Johnson )

'Those trees are a part of us'

The group has unsuccessfully attempted to apply for protection for the trees under the federal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act.

The application was rejected by former environment minister Melissa Price and again by her successor, Sussan Ley, after the Federal Court ordered a fresh decision.

Former state Greens MP and Djab Wurrung woman Lidia Thorpe said the significance of the landscape in the area had been instilled in her throughout her life.

"Those trees are a part of us," she said.

"The history of those trees is what makes us Djab Wurrung women.

"The stories of birthing, the stories of cooking, the story of those trees being culturally modified over hundreds of years is incredible."

The State Government has maintained that rigorous cultural heritage conditions have been met for the project, with traditional owners from Martang Incorporated approving it in 2013.

But it was forced to make an embarrassing admission when traditional owners from another relevant Aboriginal authority, Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation, revealed they had not been brought into the process until 2017.

Chief executive Jamie Lowe said at the time that the group had not approved works.

"We did identify this as a culturally significant landscape, so we never gave consent for the construction of the road for this landscape," he said.

Earlier this year, the road authority came to an agreement with Eastern Maar to protect 15 trees identified as culturally significant, including birthing and directions trees.

But those behind the tent embassy on the ground said they would not be content until the road was rerouted from the area.

"Our culture is not completely lost," Ms Onus said.

"We still have parts of it and these are the parts we want to keep intact now.

"Surely that's not too much to ask after 240 years of total destruction, almost."

The centre tree has been identified as a birthing tree and will be saved under the revised plan. ( ABC News: James Hancock )

Registered Aboriginal parties 'not representative'

At the end of last month, Martang lost its status as the Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP) for the area, which had given it legal standing to be consulted around cultural heritage.

Eastern Maar has applied for status in the same area in its stead.

Ms Thorpe, also a member of the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation, said the protests from Djab Wurrung people had occurred because the Victorian system of RAP representing particular geographic areas was not working.

She said the 15 trees that would be protected under the agreement were insufficient and there should be a review into the RAP system.

"The consent process is only done by a handful of people who are approved by the Victorian Government, and that's where it's creating a lot of conflict for our people.

"It's creating this conflict around when developments are approved at that level where traditional owners on the ground don't know what's happening.

"There have been no meetings or consultations with the Djab Wurrung people as a whole."

Felling unlikely to start for months

The protesters, who have been blocking work on the highway for 14 months, have been given an ultimatum by the road authority to get off the land by August 22 or face arrest.

Mr Price said some surveying work began early last week and the project was now due to finish early in 2022.

He said it was unlikely trees would be felled within weeks due to the weather conditions, but that work would be starting in the next few months.

But the protesters said they would stand their ground.

Mr Djab Mara said the group would continue a peaceful protest.

Zellanach Djab Mara has been living onsite for more than a year in an effort to protect the trees. ( ABC Ballarat: Sian Johnson )

"We hold the truth. We must continue to do what it is that we are doing and that is protecting and preserving our cultural right, our cultural being."

Protesters should 'comply with orders', Premier says

Premier Daniel Andrews emphasised the road safety concerns when asked about the protests last Friday.

He said arrests would be "regrettable" but the project needed to begin.

"I would always respect people's right to peacefully protest, but I think the point's been made and people now need to peacefully move on," he said.

"They've been issued with orders and they should comply with those orders."