AGL has announced a second delay to their plan to import gas via Ramsar-listed Westernport Bay in Victoria.
Read here.
The delay comes amidst nationwide fury that Australians are paying some of the highest gas prices in the world while Australia remains the number one gas exporter.
Save Westernport believes AGL plan should be scrapped entirely – it’s bad for Westernport’s world-renowned wetlands, it’s bad for Westernport communities and it’s bad for the nation’s energy future.
But the delay is an opportunity to do better.
It’s time for energy companies and governments to start building a real renewable energy future.
Save Westernport president Louise Page said, ‘we can’t stand by and allow critical habitat like Westernport to be used by AGL to reap profits at the expense of the bay and surrounding communities. We need energy solutions that actually make sense’.
AGL said the delay is because the company has sourced a different ship to process its hoped-for imported gas and fits with the Environment Effects Statement (EES) timing which is now no earlier than FY20. AGL expects to reach a final investment decision on the Crib Point project following the EES outcome.
‘We call on Premier Daniel Andrews, Federal MP for Flinders Greg Hunt and AGL CEO Brett Redman to reject business-as-usual fixes that anchor us to the energy past,’ said Page.
Save Westernport, together with other organisations and outraged Westernport communities, will continue to fight AGL’s destructive Crib Point gas plan and support long-term solutions to energy supply that put people and the environment first.
