WESTERN Highway activists have been given 14 days to vacate the land they have been occupying for 14 months.
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Major Road Projects Victoria personnel arrived on Thursday morning to hand-deliver notices to the activists who are camped along the Buangor to Ararat stretch of the highway.
The activists have been protesting the development of the Western Highway duplication project by camping on proposed construction sites since June last year.
Since then Major Road Projects Victoria has committed to preserving 13 trees the activists say are significant.
Major Road Projects Victoria put up signs that access to the land was not permitted.
Traditional Owner Zellanach Djab Mara said the notices did not change anything.
Mr Djab Mara has been camped along the proposed highway duplication route for more than a year with other activists.
"We'll do our due diligence and do what we need to do in order to save our country and our lands," he said.
"We're not going anywhere."
In a separate statement, Mr Djab Mara said the state government "wants to pick a fight" with Traditional Owners.
"We have lived here on country for 14 months now and at the end of the day, we're not going to put up with it, we're not going to tolerate it," he said.
"We're not moving until our sacred lands are protected. Sovereignty was never ceded.
"This country belongs to the women and children of the Djab Wurrung people, our ancestors and our future generations. We are the traditional custodians of this part of country, and by not engaging with us, Daniel Andrews is asking for this to get ugly."
A Major Road Projects Victoria spokesman confirmed construction would get underway soon.
"With construction set to get underway, we are asking people to leave the project area," he said.
"We understand that there is a lot of interest in the project but we're asking anyone on the site to please leave the project area so we can get on with these essential works to make journeys safer for everyone travelling on the Western Highway.
READ: The letter issued to activists
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