Colin Barnett pushes ahead with Roe 8 freeway despite 'invalid' ruling

Premier says project 'critical' for state as environment minister orders independent review of the Environmental Protection Authority

The West Australian government has formalised its plans to push ahead with the controversial Roe 8 freeway in southern Perth, announcing it would ask the Environmental Protection Authority to reassess the project and appeal the supreme court decision that found the original approval "invalid".

The chief justice Wayne Martin declared both the EPA's assessment of the $500m project and the state government's subsequent approval "invalid" in December, saying the EPA "took no account of its own published policies at the time it made its decision".