The government is considering AGL and APA's Environmental referrals right now! If you want to help, click and see what actions you can take by reading our guide to submitting objections to the EPBC process. We need your help!
Commercial Exploitation
of Westernport Bay
SaveWesternport acknowledges that the lands and waters of Westernport belong to the Bunnerong (Boon Wurrung) Peoples of the Kulin Nation. We offer our respects to their Aboriginal Elders past and emerging, and recognise their continuing contribution to caring for Country.
We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded.
Latest News
ACCC Changes Its Mind on a Gas Reservation Policy
October 21, 2018In a surprise announcement on Friday the ACCC Chair Rod Simms backflipped on his previous stance and “joined the chorus for a gas reservation policy on the east coast to keep a lid on prices and save key manufacturers from closure”. ABC News published an in-depth article about the announcement containing some great analysis as well as a video segment that is worth watching. We've received many questions asking why a gas reservation policy is a good thing. In short, here's why: First, Australia is one of the world’s biggest gas exporters (#2 in fact). Victoria is no exception. Only half the gas produced in Victoria’s Bass Strait is used in Victoria. The rest is exported. AGL is planning to re-import gas to Victoria, most likely Australian gas which has already been sold to Asia for a cheap price because they believe Victorians will pay higher prices than it will cost them to re-import it. Having a gas reservation policy eliminates such convoluted commercial shenanigans where our own gas is sold back to us. Instead, having an energy policy which holds gas in reserve for domestic use keeps our own gas here, for our own use, and keeps prices lower naturally. ...
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We Need Urgent Help with the EPBC. This Article Tells you Why, and How to Help.
October 13, 2018What Is Happening and Why Is It Urgent? Both APA and AGL have referred their projects for approval to the federal government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999 (the EPBC). Based upon these referrals, and public comments and objections, the government will decide whether no further study is necessary (thereby giving the projects the go-ahead), or decide that significantly more study needs to be done before the projects can proceed. We want to help you raise any objections to one or both of these referrals by making a public submission with your objections. The referrals themselves are available on the EPBC Public Invitation Page and are designated as 2018/8297 (APA Pipeline) and 2018/8298 (AGL Regasification Installation). However, the documents are extensive and the Act itself may be difficult for most people to fully read and understand. So, time is of the essence, and we want to help as many people respond with their objections as possible. The deadline for both is October 24th, 2018! Who Can Help? You can! The EPBC is an invitation for public comment. The EPBC Act assures that the public has a voice, and the government assures us that all public comments...
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Richard Wynne and Save Westernport Talk About the EES on ABC Radio
October 10, 2018This morning at 8:30AM, ABC Radio Gippsland host Jonathon Kendall interviewed Richard Wynne about the EES, its impacts, and how the process will proceed. Immediately after, he spoke to a representative from Save Westernport following up about activism efforts and the importance of the Westernport Bay environment. Kendall said AGL was asked to appear but they declined. He ends the show with their quoted statement: Since AGL has announced its preferred site at Crib Point, it has undertaken extensive public consultation, including 26 public meetings. We reconfirm our commitment to engage with the community and to follow all assessment requirements deemed necessary by the State government and regulatory bodies. Listen now...
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Full Environmental Assessment Required!
October 9, 2018Just received from the Minister's office... more updates soon. This is a huge win. It's the deferral to EES we've been waiting for. You can see the release on the Premier's site, or read our copy here... The proposed Crib Point Gas Import Facility and adjoining pipeline will undergo an Environmental Effects Statement (EES). The proposal by AGL and APA will be closely examined and subject to community submissions under the strongest environmental assessment process in the State. The project would see construction of a high-pressure gas pipeline to connect a liquid natural gas import facility constructed at Crib Point to the Victorian Transmission System, near Pakenham. The EES will investigate the potential environmental, community and cultural impacts of the project including impacts on native vegetation, wildlife, marine life and Aboriginal cultural heritage. The Government will establish a technical reference group as part of the assessment process and establish draft scoping requirements for public comment. While the EES will deliver an assessment of the project’s environmental effects, the final proposal will still need to comply with a range of regulatory approvals, including legislative requirements under the Environment Protection Act 1970, Pipeline Act 2005 and Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006. Quotes attributable to Minister for Planning...
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The Strange Case For Gas Import
October 21, 2018One of the most confounding aspects the Crib Point gas import terminal is the very idea of gas import itself. This is especially true considering Australia's status as a top ranking gas exporter. The Port of Hastings media release (available here) that introduced the AGL proposal at Crib Point last year is typical of information used to explain the apparent need to import gas. It quoted the Australian Energy Market Operator AEMO report at the time, which predicted shortfalls in the domestic supply of gas: The Australian Energy Market Operator’s March 2018 Victorian Gas Planning Report highlights a potential shortfall in gas supply during peak gas demand in 2021 and a potential shortfall in total supply in 2022. Remediation work needs to start now so that, should AGL obtain the required project approvals and make the decision to proceed, Berth No.2 is available in time to meet this forecast shortfall. Because Australia has a ready supply of LNG it is among the top producers of the commodity in the world, and yet the forecast was that there would not be enough to supply our needs in the coming years unless a new source was brought on line. How did we...
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New Thinking Required
October 11, 2018Jack, a local surfer and environmental scientist, points out old thinking and questions, "why trash a resource when it is the greatest asset we have?" Old corporate thinking exploits resources—use it up and move on—as if there is an infinite supply, when in fact the environment is finite. Once gone that’s it. Westernport is productive as a destination. It is the foundation of the local economy and it earns an income for locals, sustainably. That is new thinking: Working with and looking after a resource. It’s obvious. There is only one earth. https://youtu.be/zVS_-tDi8O8
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Golden Point, a refuge for the living
September 24, 2018At Golden Point on Sunday morning, it happened to be Spring Equinox. The luminosity of the shifting Spring skies, the threading of cool and warm breezes in between momentary sprinklings of soft rain and the silence was only interrupted by the lapping of wavelets on the rocky shoreline. We were held in a few moments of deep calm, a few moments of reprieve from the information overloaded world of angst and disarray which fill the airwaves of our lives. This is a magical place relatively unspoiled by the historic industrialisation of Westernport. The natural raw hand of nature’s miraculous nurseries for migrating birds, and marine life thrive, providing fundamental protection and part of the food chain for all living creatures around the bay. For the health and well being of our own bodies and souls, this is a balm in our search to be reminded of original Earth. Here she stands in her own domain of complexity and hierarchies, teaming with life, rocking layers of the living some of which we cannot even see with our eyes or hear with our ears. We were able to breathe deeply again, and hear the sound of our own heart beats resonating with...
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If you want to get involved, find out what you can do. We maintain an "Action" page dedicated to giving you up-to-date information about what you can do, and how.