Channel Deepening Project Is it sustainable Blue Wedges Coalition

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Channel Deepening Project Is it
sustainable?Blue Wedges Coalition The Fishing
Party (Victoria)
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DID YOU KNOW THAT? Even though the Independent
Panel who investigated the Environmental Effects
Statement (EES) found 137 items that were not
suitable for acceptance of the project, the
dredge is ON ITS WAY and scheduled to start work
in AUGUST!
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DID YOU KNOW THAT?

• The Bracks Government has approved a TRIAL
  DREDGING both in the upper bay, Yarra River and
  Port Phillip Heads.
• Trial Dredging is DREDGING. The effects
  particularly at Port Phillip Heads are
  IRREVERSEABLE!
• DEAD IS DEAD! Just as scientific whaling is the
  killing of whales, this project will kill our
  marine life and seriously damage our marine
  environment.

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DID YOU KNOW THAT?

• The Victorian Government has already spent over
  12 Million of taxpayers money on this project
  for a negative result.
• They now intend to spend even more of OUR money
  on a Supplementary Environment Effects Statement
  (SEES).
• THEY will not stop until they pay for the answers
  THEY require!
• If there are to be any further investigations it
  should be paid for by those who stand to gain
  from the project. ie International Shipping
  Companies.
• The PoMC Economics expert witness and Peer
  Reviewer Matthew Lee admitted under
  cross-examination that
• Benefits to individual Victorians would be
  immeasurably minor!

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Exxon Valdez Prince William Sound Alaska
DID YOU KNOW THAT? - The whole operation will
cost Victorians in excess of 1 Billion.- The
shipping companies will make most of the
profit.- The Exxon Valdez clean-up has cost in
excess of US5 Billion.
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Prestige Disaster 2002
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DID YOU KNOW THAT?

• Earlier attempts to dredge the Heads were halted
  because of erosion to Point Nepean.
• That Bass Strait tides are up to 2 metres higher
  than Port Phillip Bay due to the size of the Port
  Phillip Heads opening.
• Average tides will rise and fall approximately
  10mm more/less, however storm surge may have
  significant increases.

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• 40 million tonnes of spoil- sand silt and
  habitat
• 2 dump sites in bay
• 3-7 million tonnes of toxic Yarra silt
• 2 year duration

Map from EES
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How will increased tidal movement and storm surge
effect our sensitive intertidal areas, wetlands
and water table?
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Mt. Martha Nth. September 2003 There was once
approximately 50 metres of beach in front of
these beach huts!
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The guidelines of the EES did not allow for full
investigation on land based effects such as
detriments to water quality on our beaches,
effects to bayside businesses, public health or
destruction of our tourism and charter
industries.
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Our marine habitat is more than just rock and mud!
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Photo William Boyle
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Did you know that giant Sunfish are a regular
visitor to our Bay?
What else don't we know?
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A trend we cannot resist?
For this.
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By 2020

• No. of calls per year 2,122
• Container ships affected 9
• No. affected per year 193
• No. of containers removed/Call 300
• No. of containers per year 58,000
• (Approx. 10 full 6,000 TEU ships per year)

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The Sea Giant the Age 11th October 2003
This ship was built was about the same time as
when the present state environmental legislation
was written - mid 1970s. The oil industry
demanded larger tankers - they were a flop!
Needing to be decanted onto smaller vessels that
could access ports of the world. Oil industry
was wrong in the 70s. Perhaps the container
industry is wrong in 2005.
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Threshold decisions

• Do we want to continue to grow at 5 per year?
• Are we prepared to take ALL the associated risks?
  
• Are we wedded to present engineering and freight
  handling technologies?

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We already allow the entry of many ships that are
black banned in international ports!
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But....EES Terms of Reference specifically
excluded

• Land based impacts
• Funding arrangements
• Alternatives

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Dec. 2002 off Portsea. This 220 dredge is
miniscule compared to the Queen Of The
Netherlands, a Foreign owned and operated
dredge. The company contracted who own the
dredge Royal Boskalis have no assets nor
interests in Australia, and under the terms of
the contract and Facilitation Bill they will be
all but immune from litigation. They will also
be responsible for their own environmental
monitoring!
Photo Peter Fear
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Dredge Plume The Rip December 2002 Photo
Peter Fear
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Channel Deepening Facilitation Bill

• Alters Victorian Constitution
• Removes long standing Third Party Appeal rights
• Affected parties cannot seek review of any
  Ministerial decision related to project
• Reduces access to areas of the Bay - as specified
  by the PoMC
• Further impost on Bay businesses
• The Bill is still before Parliament and can be
  presented at any time.

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How the Bay keeps clean - the Nitrogen (N) Cycle

• What you see is maintained by what you cannot
  see.
• Sediments and benthic ecosystem critical for
  function, water quality, aesthetic value and
  preservation of the Bay.
• entire volume of Bay filtered on a weekly basis
  by micro flora and fauna.

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The EES Oceanographers own computer modeling
showed massive dredging plumes covering our
precious Marine Parks!
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Truck traffic set to double by 2010 and quadruple
by 2030 in some portside suburbs. The Age
Various articles 2002, 2003 The Health Report
ABC radio 28th April 2003
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This proposal is about

• Saving Shipping industry 1.4 billion in
  transport costs over 25 years.
• Catering for the anticipated over-supply of
  larger vessels on the major East-West trade
  routes.
• moving containers in the manner favoured at the
  present time by the container industry.

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A threshold decision..
Boxes of stuff to stuff into our houses David
Suzuki
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Some other consequences of our threshold
decisions...what are we moving in these
boxes?
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Contacts

• Blue Wedges Coalition
• P.O. Box 162
• Dromana
• VICTORIA, 3936
• contact_at_bluewedges.org
• www.bluewedges.org

The Fishing Party (Victoria) P.O. Box
125 Patterson Lakes VICTORIA, 3197
tfpvic-secretary_at_netspace.net.au
www.thefishingparty.info
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SIGNATORIES TO THE CHARTER

• Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League Inc.
• Port Phillip Bay Westernport Professional
  Fishermen's Association
• Frankston Beach Association Inc.
• Southern Shark Gillnet Fishermen's Association
• Carrum Anglers Club
• Sandringham Bicycle Users Group.
• The Fishing Party (Vic)
• Brighton Foreshore Preservation Association Inc.
• Friends of the Brighton Dunes at the Dr Jim
  Willis Reserve
• Western Region Environment Centre - Werribee.
• Kananook Creek Association Inc.
• Westernport Peninsula Protection Council Inc.
• Bellarine Seastar
• Kingston Conservation Environment Coalition
  Inc.
• Friends of Rosebud Beach and Foreshore Inc.
• Carrum Residents Action Group Inc.
• Friends of Chinaman's Creek Inc. - West Rosebud.
• Polperro Dolphin Swims - Sorrento.
• Protectors of Public Lands Inc. (PPL) - Victoria.
  

• Oz Dive
• Diveline Club
• Dive Industry Association Victoria (DIVA)
• Mornington Environment Association Inc.
• Friends of Pt. Lillas
• Friends of Mentone Cliffs
• Mt. Eliza Association for Environmental Care Inc.
  
• Defenders of the SE Green Wedge
• Gould St. Residents Frankston
• Bayside Alliance
• Friends of Darebin Creek
• Mornington Peninsula Youth Enterprises
• Rowan Woodlands - Dingley Village.
• EcoVision
• Nutrition Australia
• Queenscliff Community Association
• Rye Body Balance
• Save Pt. Nepean
• Moonee Ponds Community Association

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