Western Port is an environmentally and culturally significant area, supporting endangered species, unique ecological communities and migrating birds. It is also home to the Port of Hastings which has been selected by the Victorian Government to host the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal.
Western Port is under pressure not only from the Terminal but from encroaching residential and industrial development. Western Port is deeply valued by many people living nearby who have a history of successfully resisiting inappropriate development. Local environment groups, Traditional Custodians and locally active scientists possess a wealth of knowledge about the area that has the potential to improve the EES process and environmental outcomes and build trust in Victoria’s nascent offshore wind industry.
Nature and the renewable energy transition need not be at odds. As the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (ISPBE) stated following their first collaboration with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “Biodiversity loss and climate change are both driven by human economic activities and mutually reinforce each other. Neither will be successfully resolved unless both are tackled together.”
The development of a Victorian offshore wind industry is a massive undertaking and it’s essential that the industry puts its best foot forward, starting with this project. Our submission provides clear direction on how it can be done.
Download the submission here or scroll through below.