[Greens-Media] Queen set to vandalise Port Phillip Heads with state government approval

[susan.pennicuik at parliament.vic.gov.au]

3 April 2008

Queen set to vandalise Port Phillip Heads with state government approval

Greens  MLC,  Sue  Pennicuik,  said  the  commencement  of  dredging at the
Entrance  to  Port  Phillip  Bay  is an outrage that should never have been
allowed to commence.

"The  damage  that will be caused by the deepening of the Entrance by up to
five  metres  is  an  act  of  the  utmost stupidity in this era of climate
change.  The  projected  rises in sea levels are up to five metres now, not
the 30 cm relied upon by the Port of Melbourne. It is unbelievable that the
state  government  is  putting  Port  Phillip  Bay  at  such risk", said Ms
Pennicuik.

"Unfortunately,  once  the damage has been done, it can't be undone and the
people  of  Victoria will have forever to regret that this was ever allowed
to happen", she said.

"We  know  that  rock  scour  damage  is still occurring at the site of the
'trial  dredging' program in August 2005. The Port of Melbourne admitted at
the  SEES  Inquiry  last  July  that the Bay may take up to thirty years to
recover  from the massive dredging program that is about to commence at the
Heads", she said.

"I  can  only  say  that  this  is  an  act  of  vandalism of a significant
ecological  asset  that  is being sanctioned by the state government, which
should be protecting it", she said.

"The  ultimate  tragedy is that we don't even need channel deepening as the
vast  majority  of  ships  have no trouble entering or leaving Port Phillip
Bay.  It  reminds  me  of  Lake  Pedder,  flooded  in  1972  by a statutory
corporation  that  would  hear no critics, to produce power that in the end
wasn't even needed. A priceless asset was destroyed for nothing", she said.

The  Port  and the state government should abandon this project before it's
too  late  and  concentrate  instead  on getting more freight onto rail and
reaching its 30% by 2010 target. (It's only at about 17% now)", she added.

Further information: Sue Pennicuik 0407 000 270





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