Western Port Open Letter

We're calling for faster and fairer climate action in Victoria!

UPDATE: In the lead up to the federal election, we're delivering our open letter to candidates to show them we want climate action! Join the rally in Hastings on Sunday 7 May to show your support.

Join the event

Victorians from regions right across the state are getting together to show how widespread the support for climate action is in the lead up to the federal election.

In the coastal villages around Western Port, community members are reaching out to local businesses, community groups, schools, sporting clubs and other groups – asking them to sign onto the open letter for faster and fairer Victorian climate action.

Fill in the form below to sign on and show your support.

I want to sign on to the open letter!

OPEN LETTER FOR FASTER AND FAIRER VICTORIAN CLIMATE ACTION

To our Federal MPs and prospective candidates,

The pandemic has taught us we can’t avoid big global threats. It has also taught us the value of expert advice and decisive leadership.

Here in the communities surrounding Western Port we already feel the reality of a changing climate. Storms are hitting us harder, destructive bushfires have been on our doorstep, sea level rise threatens our coastal villages.

We need our leaders at all levels to make deep and urgent cuts to our emissions to maintain a liveable planet for our children and grandchildren; and to ensure a just, fair transition.

We know how to do this. We have the technology. With this letter we are demonstrating that the Victorian people have the will. And what we need now is for our Federal leaders to make the decisions.

Victoria has set a great foundation. In just four years large-scale clean energy has created 3584 jobs and attracted $5 billion in investment. Victorian wind, solar and hydro is generating enough energy to power almost 3 million homes.

Now we call on our elected leaders to –

  • Legislate a plan to reduce our 2030 emissions by 75% below 2005 levels, joining the Business Council of Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Japan in seeing this is the necessary way forward.
  • Address the biggest single cause of the climate crisis – pollution from burning coal, oil and gas. Coal power alone is responsible for 40% of Victoria’s emissions and we can replace it with clean energy.
  • Protect our most important ecosystems that are the basis of the planet’s viability including the world-recognised Ramsar-listed wetlands of Western Port and Australia’s crucial waterway and food bowl, the Murray-Darling Basin.
  • Use the transition to boost our economy and ensure all communities both adapt and thrive.

In particular, as a leader in this region, we call on you to –

    • Protect and enhance Western Port and its hinterland, which are beloved places of recreation and ecotourism for millions of Victorians and tourists from further afield; its mangroves and seagrasses absorb climate pollution and protect communities against storm surges; and it is a critical nursery site to many plant, bird and marine species.
    • Remove barriers to enable community renewable energy projects, allowing the community to produce, use and retain profits from their own clean energy.
  • Provide support packages to switch households away from polluting fuels to clean, efficient electrical appliances.

Every Victorian community has a stake in moving our state and nation beyond polluting fuels and protecting our natural world. We call on our Federal political representatives and candidates to back this vision on behalf of people around Western Port by committing to the critical opportunities above.

Signed by,


















Additional signatories

Friends of Flinders Coastline
Bill Young
Janet Fleming
Cathie Beenie
Jill Sunderland
John Wright
Mary Lu Burt
Sally Baillieu
Pagan Davies
Janene Vurlow
Marg Healy
Patrick McLennan
Janet Hodgson
Gabrielle Arnold
Jan Earls
Diane Bell
Heba Dalley
Ann Lazzaro
Paula Polson
Joey De Backer
Brenda Tucker
Elspeth Freeman
Sarah Bell
Malcolm Finlay
Beverly Armstrong
John Hall
Ann Paul
Michael Waters
Debra Furness
Geoff Heyes
Suzanne Peel
Richard Hutchinson
Janet Opie
Kirsten Millman
Phil Thomas
Jocelyn Williams
Jan Aitcheson
Verity Saunders Ducos
Sean Basham
Lisa How
Garry Disher
Linda Dal Castello
Penny Woodward
Andrew Welsh
Joanne Swain
Geoff Hubbard
Tom Hiney
Peter Jack
Tori Grayden
Rhonda Juniper
Jeremy Sallmann
Amanda Rampton
Roger Richard
Michelle Wood
Barb Rimington
Julie McInnes
Andy Long
Barbara Baker
Andrew McInnes
Deborah Kydd
Jo Monie
Erica Churchill
Georgie Stubbs
Sharyn Cornthwaite
Henk Van Leeuwen
Jenny Date
Hayley Malloy
Viktoria Vazorka
Melinda Gustus
Beth Ramsay
Jenny Thomson
Iris Turner
Peter Mckenzie
Kati Racz
Vicki Crabb
Judith Newman
Zalie Cranwell
Sue Boggan
Candida van Rood
Veronica Gravener
Laura Brearley
Louise Gorman
Pamela Peters
Barbie Wilson
Simon Chipper
Jan Fleming
Cassie Mills
Launi Hill
Julie Trezise
Robert Radnell
Peg McGuire
Margaret Dalli
Mark Jones
Joanna Johnson
Kaye Wharington
Patrick O’Connor
Ella Walker
Marilyn Robertson
Margot McDonald
Julia Cox
Jacqueline Amos
Rebecca Gray
David Wilson
Ralph Marrison
John Bennett
Maureen Donelly
Emily McCarron
Chloe Farmer
Christopher Densham
David Day
Amanda Day
Elizabeth Warr
Cate Townsend
Gemma Hocking
Amanda Lee
Mairi Stewart
Michelle Burridge
Amy Hiller
Ed Keating
Linda Atkinson
Marnie Fitzsimons
David Paonetti
John Lorkin
Lee Ward
Susan Grant
Mary Iles
Janet Stanley

Merricks Nursery
Peter Mckenzie
Sue Dunbar
Diane Baird
Victor Komarovsky
Phillipa Ransome
Jo Hansen
Bass Coast Post
Carmen Bush
Keith Vagg
Janet Street
Carolin Savage
John Beaney
Beryl Beaney
Nettya Morrison
Beryl Mulder
Jane Dickenson
Alison Hoelzer
Mary Daley
Louise O’Bryan
Derek Freeman
Marnie Fitzsimons
Peter Balfe
Michael Bennet
Maree Crooks
Doug Gaze
Helen Martin
Lee Seldon
Margaret Quinn
Rosie Brooks
Greg Dixon
Stephanie Campbell
Courtney Campbell
Kathryn Shain
David Paonetti
Anne Goodman
Lynne Alexandra
Don Juniper
Linda Curtiss
Cathie Beenie
Jethro Sallmann
Karolina Stamer-Squair
Diana Langmead
Michael Palmer
Rod Knowles
Kevin Sack
Julie McKay
Thalia Collard
Jill Manton
Marion Brauer
Amanda Harper
Belina Eden
Dr. Diana Bryne
Robert Humphrys
Laura Brearley
John Lorkin
Jeannine Wilson
Candida van Rood
Peg McGuire
Anthony King
Caroline Gibbs-Darby
Josephine Humphrys
Chris Newell
Sue Varey
Ginny Staggs
Sandra Milne
John Blogg
Ray Aspinall
Jen Petinatos
Helen Graham
Su Durrant
Phil Philippou
David Lester
Emily Clarke
Anita Wood
Matt Daniels
Victoria Thorne
Anita Wood
Joan Spittle
Chris Bakewell
Fiona Rawson
Fiona Cornwall
Joanna Bock
David Skelton
Colette Day
Helen Travers
Richard Harrison
Barbie Wilson
Michelle de la Coeur
Warwick Paton
Michele Sabto
Peter Renkin
Esther Grimes
Talei Kenyon
Kevin Sack
Nicola Tragear
Michaela George
Lynn Trakell
Peter Bragge
Jade Barker
Leigh Ackland
Lili Recht
Jan Blomfield
Rosa Mar Tato Ortega
David L Wright
Leanda Care
Jan Blomfield
Janelle Magee
John Blogg
Andrew Molloy
Anthony Kerron
Kingsley Allen
Jean Coffey
Hanne Falkiner
Leanda Michelle
Judy Hanan
Marnee Wills
Jill Osmers
Ulrich Osmers
David Weinstein
Jeannine Wilson
Pam Bannister
Lorraine Spring
Carolin Savage
David Linder
Mark Aarons
Jill Sanders