Information session at Crib Point, full to capacity. Images Linda Pickering and Jo Lane
Members of Save Westernport recently joined over 340 people at a public information session about the sale or divestment of federal Government-owned land at HMAS Cerberus Naval Base at Somers, also known locally as Sandy Point.
SWP has been following this matter closely since early 2026, when the MP News reported, ‘HMAS Cerberus will be “partially divested” as part of a massive sale of 35,000 hectares of defence real estate, announced by Minister for Defence Richard Marles on February 4…HMAS Cerberus consists of over 1500 hectares of land, with 1164 hectares marked for divestment.’
The public meeting on June 10, organised by the Departments of Defence and Finance, was held in the Crib Point Primary School gym, which quickly filled to capacity. The community’s strong interest in the planned divestment was evident; a number of people were turned away or forced to listen from outside. Unfortunately the information provided at the meeting lacked detail, and the organisers were unable to answer important questions from the public, eg “when will the divestment or sale take place?”, and “is there a map that shows the boundary of the land involved?” (“Exact boundaries are still being determined”).
Local residents and community members were emphatic about the environmental significance of the site that has remained largely undisturbed for over a century, voicing their passionate opposition to any commercial development. The public sentiment was made abundantly clear when not a single person spoke up at the meeting in favour of developing the site. A unanimous show of hands confirmed the view that the land should be preserved for its conservation value, significant biodiversity, and large number of vulnerable flora and fauna species .
How the divestment of HMAS Cerberus will play out is still unclear. The meeting organisers gave a possible timeframe of more than 2 years, adding that divestment wouldn’t necessarily mean the sale of the land— it could be transferred between government departments or levels of government, although how this would be achieved is unclear.
The Council’s Position
When Mornington Peninsula Shire Councillor Michael Stevens (MPSC Hastings ward) was asked about the Council’s position on the divestment, he said that MPSC officers were in the process of drafting a submission. At their July 7 meeting the Council voted to adopt the officers’ submission, later published on the MPSC website, on p.11 of the Attachment book for the July 7 minutes. The Council’s draft submission is also available here: https://hdp-au-prod-app-mpen-shapeourfuture-files.s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/7017/8286/6908/MPSC_Position_on_the_Proposed_Partial_Divestment_of_HMAS_.pdf
We welcome much of the Council’s Draft Submission, which recommends a clear conservation outcome for Cerberus, stating in part : “The site is a strategically important parcel for conservation. The site forms part of the Western Port Ramsar Wetland area… significant for its coastal, wetland and biodiversity values, including its role in supporting critical habitat for migratory and threatened species…Dedication as a National Park under the Victorian National Parks Act 1975 would provide the highest level of protection and management of the site’s conservation values.”
“… Council’s advocacy position regarding the preferred future use of the land is:
- That the future use of the land should be primarily for conservation purposes with limited recreation, tourism and aquaculture uses that protect and enhance the special ecological values of the site.
- The process should include early and meaningful engagement with relevant Traditional Owner groups as the site is located on Country with enduring Aboriginal cultural, historical and spiritual significance.
Make a Submission
Your submissions on the Council’s draft position can be made during the Council’s 6 week community consultation period from July 14 until Tuesday August 25. Visit: https://shape.mornpen.vic.gov.au/council-position-hmas-cerberus-partial-divestment
You can also make submissions to the Department of Finance, the federal department responsible for the divestment of the Defence Estate. Go to the ‘Feedback and Future Use’ form for Delivering the Future Estate on the Dept of Finance website. Scroll down and select ‘Victoria’, then ‘HMAS Cerberus’ from the list of Defence force properties here: https://www.finance.gov.au/government/property-and-construction/divestments/defence-estate-audit
or email submissions to: divestment.program@finance.gov.au
If you want to use some of the points in your own submission, SWP’s submission on the plans to divest HMAS Cerberus is available here on our website:
More on Environmental Significance
According to the Westernport Peninsula Protection Council (WPPC), Federal government plans to subdivide and sell off HMAS Cerberus could breach Commonwealth EPBC environment protection laws. “The HMAS Cerberus land at Sandy Point is easily in the top six areas of biodiversity on the Mornington Peninsula. Piecing together its value from old surveys and the available data, it is extremely rich in biodiversity with good sized viable populations of a variety of species. It is Federal, State and Local Government policy to protect areas so rich in native species, and that is what we expect. We therefore call upon the Federal Government for a biodiversity survey, and the appropriate protection.
The Conservation Council of Victoria’s 1975 Westernport Region Conservation Survey for the Westernport Region Planning Authority said of Sandy Point:
“Complex varied area includes 12 different distinct plant communities with 200 different species recorded. Most southerly salt marsh and mangroves on Peninsula and four distinct eucalypt woodland associations. Only remaining Banksia forest on Peninsula. Banksia integrifolia” There are many varied ecological classes including large areas of banksia woodland, areas of narrowleaf peppermint, with an understory of microlaena and wildflowers. Heathland with the large orchid list seen in nearby heathland, and swampy areas with swamp paperbark.
Swamp harriers, Southern boobook, and Powerful owl are three of the top predators. Jacky lizard, eastern mourning skink and southern toadlet are some of the vertebrates sighted in the past. It’s highly likely there are still a lot of sugar gliders and a viable population of white-footed dunnarts, the marsupial carnivore. Bandicoots, antechinus, echidna, microbats and swamp wallaby also sighted.”
Before the public meeting, SWP reached out to Bush Heritage Australia for advice on protecting the land from unsuitable development. While they’re not in a position to take on its management, their science team made a preliminary review of the available information and replied: “…the area appears to contain a number of significant conservation values. The proposed divestment area sits within the South East Coastal Plain Bioregion and Gippsland Plain subregion, both of which have relatively low level of protection within Australia’s reserve system…. It contains substantial areas of native vegetation, including ecological vegetation communities that are classified as endangered, vulnerable, rare or depleted under Victoria’s conservation framework, including Swamp Scrub, Coast Banksia Woodland, Grassy Woodland, Damp Sands Herb-rich Woodland and Sand Heathland.”
“The area adjoining the Ramsar-listed Western Port wetlands includes coastal habitats that may support nationally threatened ecological communities. Commonwealth environmental datasets indicate the potential presence of a significant number of threatened species and identify several biologically important areas associated with marine and coastal fauna. Together, these values suggest the site plays an important role in supporting biodiversity across the region…proposed conservation appears particularly relevant in the context of Australia’s commitment to protect 30 per cent of land by 2030, as well as the relatively low representation of protected areas within both the South East Coastal Plain Bioregion and Gippsland Plain subregion”. They suggested that potential partners could include Parks Victoria, Trust for Nature, Traditional Custodian organisations, local government or other local land conservation managers.
SWP has been researching some additional issues with the land concerning its PFAS contamination, unexploded ordinance, and the wishes of the Bunurong Land Council. The Bunurong were recorded occupying the area, known as Coolart (Kullurk) in 1840. Later they applied through the local Aboriginal protector William Thomas for government permission for the land to become a reserve (from ‘I Succeeded Once’, the memoirs of Thomas).
SWP’s article is on p.18 of the Aug 2026 edition of The Balnarring Bridge magazine’ https://drive.
