We have a new brochure that you can print yourself! It's on our "Take Action" page with more information on how you can 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
Western Port Festival Needs YOU! 22 – 24 Feb 2019
February 14, 2019Western Port Festival invites YOU to help celebrate its 50th anniversary! The 50th Western Port Festival is coming to Hastings Foreshore from Friday 22 February - Sunday 24 February 2019. Festival organisers decided to refuse sponsorship from gas corporation AGL as AGL wants to build a huge, dirty gas import factory at Crib Point. The organisers made a gutsy decision and we could not be more proud of them. Everybody is invited to the Festival, so come and show your support and let them know we’re on their side! You can join the parade at 12:00pm on Saturday 23 Feb and enjoy all the attractions, live music and great food. Save Westernport and our supporters will be marching in the parade and the Big Green Chair will feature too! We’re on board to celebrate our wonderful bay and the festival that brings us together. Join in, have fun and spread the word!
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Celebrate World Wetlands Day
January 20, 2019Celebrate World Wetlands Day on a beautiful twilight cruise with Save Westernport. Come and join us for an evening celebrating our bay with great company, fascinating commentary and magical sights. Relax and enjoy a drink* and complimentary canapes while cruising around our own precious Ramsar Westernport Bay. Thanks to a generous supporter tickets are only $30.00 per person (normally $48.50) Wildlife Coast Cruises has kindly offered to pick us up and drop off at Stony Point Pier. Details: Please be at Stony Point Pier at 6.45pm. Boarding commences at 7.00pm with a 7.15pm departure. Returning at 8.45pm. More information: 0412 860 606 bring binoculars! *drinks available for purchase from licensed bar book tickets
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Thank You for Supporting the Peninsula’s Biggest Paddle Out!
January 11, 2019What a great day for Westernport Bay! Sunday 6th January 2019 will be long remembered as the day that local residents and visitors to the Mornington Peninsula gathered to protest peacefully against AGL's plan to build a floating gas factory in Westernport Bay. Almost 2,000 people met at Pines Beach in Shoreham to show their support for Westernport Bay and send a message to AGL as well as the Victorian Government and Federal Government that we will not stand idly by and watch the bay be degraded and exploited by big industry. The Victorian Government must act on behalf of all concerned residents of the Mornington Peninsula rather than the fossil fuels industry that has been the cause of such environmental damage in the past. Hundreds paddled out and formed a heart-shape before splashing their support for the Bay with an atmosphere that was relaxed and put a smile on everybody's faces! Having so many people attend this inaugural event made it a truly special day for our community and Westernport Bay. We even made the Channel Nine News, Channel 7 News, Herald-Sun and a fantastic Western Port News front page! Back on the beach and live music was performed...
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Peninsula’s Biggest Paddle Out – Car Parking Map and Advice
January 5, 2019Sunday, January 6th is the day! Due to the incredible response to the "Peninsula's Biggest Paddle Out" this Sunday, please note that car parking will be limited around Pines Beach at Shoreham where the event will be taking place. With hundreds of people confirming their attendance on Sunday and a wedding at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Byrnes Road, Shoreham, the need for participants to car pool or organise a drop-off (and pickup later) is essential! Please refer to the car parking map below and plan your journey to Shoreham before leaving home. Once the car park at the beach is full, car parking will be along Byrnes Road and Cliff Road with a short walk down to the beach. Look for anybody who may be dropping people off at the beach and find out if you can grab a lift. Some people are also planning on parking at Point Leo and walking or paddling around. Be considerate of residents, and find a place that works for you. Note: No car parking is permitted on Frankston-Flinders Road or on private property. You can read our original announcement about the event for schedule information and other useful links. Volunteers will be...
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Full of Gas! Presented by Environment Victoria at Sustainable Living Festival This Saturday
February 6, 2019Environment Victoria presents Full of Gas! at the National Sustainable Living Festival this Saturday at Federation Square. From the EV website: The climate crisis is here – the last thing Victoria needs is a massive, new fossil fuel development in our own backyard. Energy giant AGL plans to turn Westernport Bay, a wetland sanctuary south-east of Melbourne, into a massive gas import terminal. The project would lock in decades of dirty gas, which could come from fracked sources. And it would leave behind a legacy of local environmental destruction. Hear from community leaders and campaigners, and find out how you can help stop this. Save Westernport campaigner Louise Page will be speaking about AGL's plans for Crib Point! photo courtesy of Sustainable Living Festival website WHEN: Saturday 9 February, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm WHERE: Off the Grid tent at Sustainable Living Festival, Birrarung Marr, Fed Square Speakers: Bruce Robertson, a gas analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, will explain why the idea of importing gas to Australia won’t solve anything. Local campaigners from Save Westernport will talk about the environmental damage this project could do in the sensitive Westernport ecosystem. Nick Aberle, Campaigns Manager...
Read MoreAGL’s Alarming Track Record
February 6, 2019In preparing the Environental Effects Statement into the AGL proposal to import and process the fossil fuel LNG at Crib Point in the protected wetlands of Westernport Bay, the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) can, and must consider the Environmental “Track Record” of AGL. As well as being the proponents of this project, in contrast to the public image they are at pains to present, this corporation is the BIGGEST polluter and producer of carbon emmissions in Australia. During community consultation sessions, representatives of AGL explained to local residents that when proposing major projects in the midst of established communities, big corporations like AGL require the “SOCIAL LICENSE” to operate amongst us. ”You have no reason to trust us” they explained, “we need to prove ourselves worthy of being your neighbours”, and in addition to simply taking their word for it, how else are we to discover whether they are worthy of the community’s trust other than to look at the environmental and industrial history of that corporation? But little information about AGL and their past projects has been forthcoming, other than some shiny brochures produced by slick P.R. firms.The environmental and social impact reports that...
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Harry Shares His Concerns About AGL’s Project
October 24, 2018Westernport's agribusinesses, and the contribution they make to Victoria's food production are under threat from AGL's polluting gas import facility. Local seafood producer Harry shares his concerns about the AGL proposal at Crib Point, and the threats currently facing Westernport from the gas processing plant. Flinders aquiculturalist Harry grows mussels at Flinders in the clear waters of Westernport Bay. Aquiculture is a sustainable combination of farming and fishing, and Harry's seafood contributes to the successful food producing economy of the area. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1s1V7L_mUs As populations increase, so does the importance of devising innovative and sustainable ways to produce our food. As Harry says, aquaculture ticks all the boxes. There is little doubt that the future of aquaculture in Westernport is dependent on its healthy marine environment. Its clean green setting also contributes to its success as a food producing area. In 2018, the Mornington Peninsula was awarded the title Australia's Most Outstanding Region in the renowned Delicious Produce Awards. That kind of recognition is priceless. It relies on a region's healthy reputation, which can take decades to establish. There's no doubt that Westernport is the lesser known coast of the Mornington Peninsula, and while part of the bay has been used as...
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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.