Thank You and Best Wishes for 2020!

Thank You and Best Wishes for 2020!

Posted on by Dale Stohr

Save Westernport would like to thank all our volunteers, donors and supporters for their help and encouragement during a busy 2019!

Special thanks to Environment Victoria, Crib Point Community House and the local businesses that continue to support us.

From the Peninsula’s Biggest Paddle Out at Shoreham Beach in January to the May Day community meeting at Balnarring Hall with every Federal Election candidate rejecting AGL’s gas project, we have worked hard to raise awareness of the need to stop AGL’s plans while seeking stronger legal protections for Westernport Bay’s valuable ecological character and Ramsar status.

As long as AGL persists with their proposal to import liquefied natural gas at Crib Point jetty and threaten the unique marine environment of Westernport Bay, we will continue the fight to stop this unnecessary and unjustified industrial project.

Since August 2017, AGL and its gas pipeline partner APA have sought to gain acceptance from our local communities and the Victorian State Government for this gas import project.

Their efforts will be a waste of time (and shareholder’s money) because we will never approve any heavy industry project that pollutes Westernport Bay and risks the safety of local residents and visitors.

We ask the AGL Board to make the right decision in 2020 and withdraw this flawed proposal and all the associated risks and hazards.

We wish you all a safe Christmas and a happy New Year in 2020!

EV & SWP
Sign The Pledge – Put AGL On Notice!

Sign The Pledge – Put AGL On Notice!

Posted on by Julia Stockigt

Click Here to Sign this Pledge and say NO to AGL’s dirty Gas Plan NOW

AGL is still making plans to build a gas import terminal in beautiful Westernport Bay. AGL has admitted that by processing LNG and building their outdated gas pipeline, they would routinely destroy Westernport’s precious wetlands and wildlife.

AGL’s imported gas would produce 30% more carbon than local gas. 

It’s a classic case of profit over people and planet.

That’s why this community says NO!
Save Westernport and Environment Victoria are working with local groups to make sure our voice of opposition is heard.
Take Action, SIGN NOW
We deserve the sustainable energy forms and fair prices that Government and industry have been promising for decades now!

Support the fight to protect Westernport Bay from AGL’s corporate exploitation and unnecessary industry. Now is the time to ramp up pressure and hold AGL accountable for the damage their plans will cause to these precious ecosystems.

As an AGL customer or potential customer, AGL cares about what you say and do. IF YOU DON’T SUPPORT THEIR PLANS, THEN DON’T SUPPORT AGL!
You can use your voice to hit them where it hurts by signing the Pledge NOW 

Send a message to AGL to register your concern as a customer or potential customer; if they want your business, they need to dump their dirty gas project.

On behalf of nine groups including Save Westernport, Phillip Island Conservation Society (PICS), Westernport and Peninsula Protection Council (WPPC), Friends of French Island (FOFI) and Environment Victoria, this open letter was delivered to AGL board members and shareholders at the 2019 AGL annual general meeting.

The joint letter stated that community opposition to this project continues to grow, and demands AGL to DUMP their dirty gas plan.

Now we need to keep the pressure up, and as a customer or potential customer, you can influence what AGL does.

Let’s seize this moment and let AGL know it’s not just shareholders and the local community around Westernport Bay who want AGL to do better on climate – customers and potential customers across Victoria do too.

You can help protect our climate and our precious marine sanctuary by permanently boycotting AGL if they go ahead with this dirty plan.

Put AGL on notice by signing this pledge NOW 

We can make this action even more powerful if we get more people on board. Can you help by sharing this message with five or more  friends? Please follow this link and share it.

Are you  a Member of Save Westernport yet?  Join NOW by filling in the form at the end of the Take Action page here.

Thank You

EV
Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry Into Ramsar Wetlands – public comments close Friday 29 November

Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry Into Ramsar Wetlands – public comments close Friday 29 November

Posted on by Dale Stohr

Public submissions to the Victorian Parliamentary inquiry into Ramsar wetland sites must be made by Friday 29 November.

Public comments can be made here. 

You may also submit your comments and concerns to the Committee via this link.

 

Public hearings will be also held in Melbourne, Chelsea Heights and Sale:

Monday 2 December 2019 – Parliament of Victoria, 55 St Andrews Place, East Melbourne

Tuesday 3 December 2019 – Edithvale-Seaford Wetland Education Centre, 278 Edithvale Road, Chelsea Heights

Wednesday 4 December 2019 – Port of Sale (Wellington Centre), 70 Foster Street, Sale

See more information here.

 

The Victorian Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee has commenced a public inquiry that will investigate the response to an Auditor-General’s report on Victoria’s wetlands.

The audit report, released in 2016, examined whether Victoria was meeting its obligations to protect wetlands under the international Ramsar Convention.

Victoria’s wetlands are a critical part of our state’s natural environment.

The Auditor-General wanted to know that they are well-managed and that international obligations in relation to their conservation were being met.

The Auditor-General concluded that general management of Ramsar wetland sites needed to improve for Victoria to effectively meet its obligations.

 

Save Westernport encourages all Victorians to have their say on Ramsar wetlands and voice their concerns by making a submission to this inquiry.

 

DSE
Stop AGL Westernport Summer Action Launch

Stop AGL Westernport Summer Action Launch

Posted on by Candy van Rood

Come to our
Stop AGL
Westernport Summer
Action Launch!

Join us at Somers Hall for afternoon tea
with others who care about
our precious and unique Westernport environment. 

Westernport needs you! 

Find out about our campaign to protect
the Bay’s Internationally recognized wetlands,
its spectacular creatures and ecosystems
from the threat of AGL’s heavy industry.

Sunday December 1st, 2019

2-4pm 

afternoon tea

Somers Hall, RW Stone Pavilion,
68 Camp Hill Road
Somers

                                        *Please Note the 2pm start time, not Midday as reported elsewhere*

Urgent Please Make a Submission to EPA today

Urgent Please Make a Submission to EPA today

Posted on by Julia Stockigt

URGENT: We know AGL has asked the EPA to weaken Victoria’s waste water restrictions to allow them to dump cold chlorinared water from their heat exchange straight into the Bay. If this change is allowed, it would make it easier for their gas processing plant to gain approval, even though the cumulative impacts on Westernport‘s marine ecology are unknown and could be devastating.

Please make a comment to EPA, even if it’s past the deadline on Oct 31,  or let them know you intend to comment at sublegreform@epa.vic.gov.au 

Your submission does not have to be technical, it takes just 5 minutes. Please tell them
– no new emissions must be allowed into wetlands and waterways.

– Corporations cannot be permitted to regulate their own waste in water or air.

– the EPA MUST NOT lift restrictions and weaken the few environmental protection laws we have in Victoria.

It could make polluting legal for corporations like AGL. 

If these laws are changed, it could allow AGL to dump 450 million litres of cold chlorinated water into Westernport every day it operates. AGL has said “we expect it would cause no harm to Westernport’s marine environment”,  but we know in the past they have cut corners, polluting and degrading the environment and increasing their profits.

Please tell the EPA that the job of the ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AUTHORITY must be to protect the Environment from corporations like AGL. They must not WEAKEN the Environmental Protection Laws already in place. We know that corporations who profit from environmentally harmful projects cannot be trusted to effectively regulate themselves.

AGL’s appalling environmental track record has been widely reported in national media. You can read the growing list of AGL’s accidents, spills and past convictions for DECEPTIVE AND MISLEADING CONDUCT  here.

Remember, if you need more time, please email EPA to let them know you intend to comment at: sublegreform@epa.vic.gov.au

Fill in the form here to make a comment: 

Thank you from Save Westernport.

More Info from Environment Victoria:

Right now the Andrews government is considering new rules that could weaken the EPA’s powers to stop companies like AGL from dumping polluted water into our precious wetlands. These new rules also fail to set clear guidelines for the EPA to fulfill their duty to cut climate pollution.

Will you make a submission to their public consultation to say this is not OK? Act now: the public consultation closes tomorrow! 

Make a submission here: 

On July 1 2020 Victoria’s new Environment Protection Act will come into effect. 

This will help shape Victoria’s environmental future. Strong environmental laws are vital to protect our precious ecosystems and cut climate pollution in Victoria.

Sadly, the proposed regulations that go with the new Act miss the mark on the climate crisis and protecting nature.

Earlier this year we exposed AGL’s efforts to weaken Victoria’s environmental legislation which would prevent them from building a gas import terminal in Westernport Bay’s Ramsar wetlands.

Now the EPA is proposing to weaken these regulations. For the first time in 30 years, companies like AGL could get the greenlight to discharge polluted water into our precious Victorian aquatic environments like internationally recognised Ramsar Wetlands.

And in the midst of a climate crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands of Australians marching for climate action, the proposed regulations fail to create clear guidelines for the Environment Protection Authority to deal with climate polluters. 

Despite already having the powers to deal with climate pollution, so far the EPA has chosen to do nothing, claiming existing regulations don’t provide clear guidelines. Now the EPA is about to pass up an opportunity to solve this “issue”, choosing to maintain the status quo. This is not good enough.

Have your say, help us raise the level of environmental protection in Victoria 

Make a submission: 

Writing a submission can take less than 5 minutes. Here are the two most pressing issues the EPA need to hear about:

The proposed regulations do not make it possible for the EPA to manage and regulate greenhouse gases. In the midst of a climate crisis, we need clear rules that empower (or even better, require) the EPA to engage with climate polluters to limit their pollution.

New legislation should raise environmental standards, especially for the most sensitive environments like Westernport. 

It is crucial to keep the protections of clause 22(3) of the current State Environment Protection Policy (Waters) that forbids the EPA from approving new wastewater discharges in areas of high conservation value.

Write a submission to the EPA today and tell them to step up their game.

Have your say: 

The new legislation is likely to shape Victoria’s environmental future for decades. We have until this Thursday October 31 to push for better environmental regulations that put our climate and our precious habitats first.

We need to seize this moment and let them know that Victorians care deeply about our climate, our unique ecosystems, and the generations to come. 

Thank you 
From 
Save Westernport and Environment Victoria 

 

URGENT – EPA public submissions on better environmental regulations close 31 October 2019!

URGENT – EPA public submissions on better environmental regulations close 31 October 2019!

Posted on by Dale Stohr

From Environment Victoria:

Right now the Andrews government is considering new rules that could weaken the EPA’s powers to stop companies like AGL from dumping polluted water into our precious wetlands. These new rules also fail to set clear guidelines for the EPA to fulfill their duty to cut climate pollution.

On July 1 2020 Victoria’s new Environment Protection Act will come into effect. 

This will help shape Victoria’s environmental future. Strong environmental laws are vital to protect our precious ecosystems and cut climate pollution in Victoria.

Sadly, the proposed regulations that go with the new Act miss the mark on the climate crisis and protecting nature.

Earlier this year we exposed AGL’s efforts to weaken Victoria’s environmental legislation which would prevent them from building a gas import terminal in Westernport Bay’s Ramsar wetlands.

Now the EPA is proposing to weaken these regulations. For the first time in 30 years, companies like AGL could get the greenlight to discharge polluted water into our precious Victorian aquatic environments like internationally recognised Ramsar Wetlands.

And in the midst of a climate crisis that has seen hundreds of thousands of Australians marching for climate action, the proposed regulations fail to create clear guidelines for the Environment Protection Authority to deal with climate polluters. 

Despite already having the powers to deal with climate pollution, so far the EPA has chosen to do nothing, claiming existing regulations don’t provide clear guidelines. Now the EPA is about to pass up an opportunity to solve this “issue”, choosing to maintain the status quo. This is not good enough.

Visit the EPA submissions website here.

Writing a submission can take less than 5 minutes. Here are the two most pressing issues the EPA need to hear about:

  1. The proposed regulations do not create a framework for the EPA to manage and regulate greenhouse gases. In the midst of a climate crisis, we need clear rules that empower (or even better, require) the EPA to engage with climate polluters and limit their pollution.
  2. New legislation should raise environmental standards, especially for the most sensitive environments. It is crucial to keep the protections of clause 22(3) of the current State Environment Protection Policy (Waters) that forbids the EPA from approving new wastewater discharges in areas of high conservation value.

The new legislation is likely to shape Victoria’s environmental future for decades. We have until this Thursday October 31 to push for better environmental regulations that put our climate and our precious habitats first.

We need to seize this moment and let them know that Victorians care deeply about our climate, our unique ecosystems, and the generations to come. 

Sincerely,

Dr Nick Aberle

Environment Victoria

https://environmentvictoria.org.au/

EPA Victoria
Community Fossil Fuels Forum, Sunday Oct 27 2019

Community Fossil Fuels Forum, Sunday Oct 27 2019

Posted on by Julia Stockigt

Next Sunday Oct 27 Save Westernport and WPPC  (Westernport Peninsula Protection Council) will collaborate with Friends of the Earth and Energy Justice Victoria — formerly the Quit Coal Collective to host a Community Forum in Westernport.

Friends of the Earth Melbourne is a not-for profit organisation working for a socially equitable and environmentally sustainable future. The international Friends of the Earth network is active in 
77 countries worldwide.

The Westernport Forum is planned as part of Energy Justice’s Fossil Fuels Frontline listening tour of Victorian communities that are facing the threat of a prolonged dependence on outdated carbon-intensive energy projects.

We recently welcomed our local Shire Council’s decision to enact urgent Climate Emergency measures on the Mornington Peninsula. The announcement represents an important step and reflects the need for urgent action to guarantee the region’s just and rapid transition to a sustainable energy future.

Sunday’s Forum will feature local speakers and discussions about the current issues confronting the Westernport community. It’s hoped this will be a starting point for the challenging conversations that need to take place about the inevitable transition from fossil fuels.

Join us at the Balnarring Hall next Sunday at 2pm for this family-friendly event after the Somers Art Fair nearby.                                  

Kids activities and afternoon tea will be provided.

https://www.melbournefoe.org.au/fossil_frontlines?recruiter_id=206271

Sign the Pledge- Put AGL on Notice

Sign the Pledge- Put AGL on Notice

Posted on by Julia Stockigt

 

Sign this Pledge to say NO to AGL’s dirty Gas Plan

AGL is still making plans to build a polluting and unnecessary gas import terminal in beautiful Westernport Bay, potentially destroying precious wetlands and wildlife in the process.

It’s a classic case of profit over people and planet.

Working with groups like Environment Victoria and Phillip Island Conservation Council (PICS), we’ve managed to delay their project twice, but AGL still refuses to dump their dirty gas plan.

The next year will be key in the fight for Westernport Bay. We need to ramp up pressure and hold AGL accountable for the damage their plans will cause to this precious ecosystem.

As a customer or potential customer, AGL cares about what you say. Take Action NOW and use your voice to hit them where it hurts!

Take Action NOW
Send a message to AGL to register your concern as a customer or potential customer. If they want your business, they have to dump their dirty gas project.

Last week we took the fight to the AGL board at their AGM in Sydney.

On behalf of nine groups including Save Westernport, PICS, Westernport and Peninsula Protection Society (WPPC), and Environment Victoria, an open letter was delivered to AGL board members and shareholders.

The joint letter stated that community opposition to this project continues to grow, and will not go away until AGL bin their dirty gas plan.

But now we need to keep the pressure up, and as a customer or potential customer, you can influence what AGL does.

We need to seize this moment and let them know that it’s not just shareholders and the local community around Westernport Bay who want AGL to do better on climate – customers and potential customers across Victoria do too.

You can help protect our climate and our precious marine sanctuary by permanently blacklisting AGL if they go ahead with this dirty plan.

Take Action NOW

AGL is already feeling the pressure with more than 30 percent of shareholders calling for AGL to close all its coal-burning power stations by 2030 and set climate targets consistent with limiting global warming to two degrees. We are putting the AGL corporation on notice: if they want your business, they have to dump their dirty gas project.
Put AGL on notice by signing this pledge 

We can make this action even more powerful if we get more people on board. Can you help by sharing this message with five (or more) friends? Please follow this link and share it.

You can also become a Member of Save Westernport by filling in the form at the end of the Take Action page here.

EV
EPA Charter of Consultation – Submit Comments by 10 Nov 2019

EPA Charter of Consultation – Submit Comments by 10 Nov 2019

Posted on by Dale Stohr

The new Environment Protection Amendment Act 2018 comes into force on 1 July 2020.

This is the single greatest overhaul of environment protection legislation in Victoria since the tabling of the Environment Protection Act 1970.

See details in the EPA Act 2018 fact sheet here.

Under the new Act, the general environment duty (GED) will focus Victorian business, industry and the community on preventing harm.

This will require people to undertake reasonably practicable steps to eliminate, or otherwise reduce risks of harm to human health and the environment from pollution and waste.

 

EPA Victoria is an independent statutory authority whose role is to protect Victoria’s environment and people from the harmful effects of pollution and waste.

EPA Victoria has developed a Draft Charter of Consultation and would like to hear feedback from the Victorian community about this Charter of Consultation and how it might be improved.

Members of the Victorian public can submit their feedback on the Draft Charter of Consultation at the Engage Victoria website here.

Further details are available in this Draft Charter document.

 

Have your say on how EPA Victoria consults with our communities and provides more environmental information.

Public submissions close on 10 November 2019.

Further information is available from EPA Victoria by calling 1300 372 842 or visit the website here.

 

EPA Victoria
Save Westernport joined the SS4C in Melbourne this week

Save Westernport joined the SS4C in Melbourne this week

Posted on by Julia Stockigt

Save Westernport joined over one hundred thousand people in Melbourne on Friday September 20 to rally behind the call for governments to rule out new fossil fuel projects, commit to 100 percent renewables, and ensure a fair and just transition.  

We were thrilled to see so many people representing beautiful Westernport Bay. To all our members and supporters who joined the enormous show of support for the students in their call for climate justice, we say Thank You!

Save Westernport has always opposed AGL’s gas import proposal because it would threaten Westernport’s wildlife, degrading fragile ecosystems and prolonging our outdated dependence on fossil fuels.

With a 56km gas pipeline proposed through protected wilderness areas, the AGL plan is Victoria’s Adani, and Save Westernport is determined to get the word out about this enormous threat.

AGL has estimated that gas imported and processed at their floating storage and regasifiaction unit (FSRU) would be 20% more carbon intensive than locally produced gas. 

Australian energy analyst Bruce Robertson stated in The AGE recently that the AGL project is unjustifiable both on economic and environmental grounds.

“It is extremely expensive and energy intensive to liquefy gas, and if you have one environmental bone in your body it’s an abomination. The process of liquefying natural gas emits significantly more greenhouse gases than piping it conventionally.”

Mr Robertson also argued it made no economic sense for Australia to import gas, given it exports almost twice as much natural gas as it consumes domestically.

“Importing gas is possibly the most wasteful thing you could do in terms of energy – it’s just pure wasted energy on a massive scale,” Mr Robertson said.

Premier Andrews has repeated Mr Robertson’s claims that Victoria produces twice as much gas as we use. Yet AGL says they need to import gas because we’re running low. With Australians paying the highest gas prices in the world, no wonder AGL reported recorded profits last year of over $1.6 billion. 

Save Westernport’s supporters know we cannot continue to allow our precious remaining wilderness areas to be exploited for corporate gain, and we don’t need an Environmental Effects Statement to tell us that this project is unacceptable. When the EES is completed next year, the Victorian government and AGL will decide on the future of Westernport Bay.

You can email Premier Andrews to demand decisive action on Climate NOW, by putting AGL’s gas plans for Westernport in the Bin where they belong.