Dear friend,

I am sending this on behalf of Blue Wedges, who are fighting to save the natural wonders underneath the mouth of Port Phillip Bay from the needless destruction necessary to widen the shipping channel. This is to make possible movements of larger shipping inot Port Melbourne in future. The natural wonders underneath the bay, which stand to be lost, rival those of the Great Barrier Reef, but they they are in a far more pristine condition. At least 100 marine species found nowhere else could be lost

The so-called 'channel deepening' could accelerate the tidal inflows and outflows. The Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) also plans to dredge toxic sediment from industrial areas up the Yarra River and dump it in Port Philip Bay. The full terrible environmental consequences of this all the other necessary components of channel deepening cannot be known and it all could begin as early as 1 February, barely 5 weeks from now, if we don't act.

Even without the environmental destruction, plans to expand Port Melbourne's capacity are reckless where the rising price of petroleum will make international trade ever less economically viable. So there is likely to be little need for planned larger ships in any case.

Please contact Environment Minister Peter Garrett, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Maxine McKew as requested in the following e-mail.

Also, please visit the Blue Wedges web site at www.bluewedges.org and subscribe to their newsletter and consider making a donation so they can mount their court challenge.

yours sincerely,

James Sinnamon


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Dear Supporters,

TELL GARRETT HE IS WRONG. SAY NO WAY TO DREDGING



The Bay needs you now. Here’s what to do.



Please Cut & Paste the letter below into an email to Federal Environment Minister Mr. Garrett. Please forward this request to all your friends and also forward copies of your email to:



Prime Minister Rudd via via PM’s website at: http://www.pm.gov.au/contact/index.cfm
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard at: Julia.Gillard.MP@aph.gov.au
Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Maxine McKew at: maxine.mckew@alp.org.au Her new parliamentary address Maxine.McKew.MP@aph.gov.au appears not to be working.
c.c. to contact@bluewedges.org would also be appreciated


Before you do: Thanks to all who sent letters to Mr. Garrett before he approved channel deepening. However Mr. Garrett’s decision and Media release of 20th December shows he didn't listen and he relied on old inaccurate information which he seems to have gleaned from reading superseded PoMC promotional material. See Mr. Garrett’s Media Release at: http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/garrett/2007/pubs/mr20071220.pdf



Of course Mr. Garrett, Minister for the Environment should have assessed the project independently rather than relying only on information assembled by the PoMC and its consultants.  But – it looks like he didn’t bother even finding out where Port Phillip Bay is before condoning this act of environmental vandalism.   



If you really want to stop the now “jumbo-ised” Queen of the Netherlands from taking up residence in our Bay this is your big chance. The QoN is now 50 metres longer and 50% bigger capacity than when she last ran amok in our Bay, so she shouldn't be let loose again to do even more damage. Let’s give Mr. Garrett one more chance. Let's send him and his colleagues hundreds of emails telling them a few good reasons why Mr. Garrett should never have approved channel deepening, and why it must be stopped NOW.



See news items on our website www.bluewedges.org for a history of Royal Boskalis, their worldwide activities and our campaign so far. Especially check out: Super-size me PoMC at: http://www.bluewedges.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=54&cntnt01returnid=66 and Boskalis sinks some stinkers at: http://www.bluewedges.org/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,detail,0&cntnt01articleid=76&cntnt01returnid=66





Cheers and thanks,

Blue Wedges Editor

Cut here





The Hon. Peter Garrett

Minister for Environment Heritage and the Arts

Parliament House

Canberra

ACT 2600

Peter.Garrett.MP@aph.gov.au



Dear Minister,



Save Port Phillip Bay



You have made a grave error in approving the Port Phillip Bay Channel deepening proposal and have committed the Bay to much damage. You do not have enough information to have made a proper decision and the health of the Bay and all who rely on it will suffer as a consequence.



Your Media Release of 20th December relies on promotional material from the Port of Melbourne Corporation rather than facts. I believed you would protect the environment, not be swayed by “developer’s marketing”. You say you will safeguard the "Western Port Ramsar site". You have confused Western Port and Port Phillip Bay.  Western Port is a separate, unique and different ecosystem, in a completely different location. 


Here are some facts about Port Phillip Bay and channel deepening:

http://news.smh.com.au/use-dredged-sand-to-create-eco-islands/20080117-1mj7.html

Rocks and sand dredged from Port Phillip Bay during channel deepening works should be used to create an archipelago of man-made islands for visitors and wildlife, some tourism operators say.

One operator has even suggested calling the new destination Brumby Island, in honour of Victorian Premier John Brumby.

Sorrento sailing operator Kerry Murphy, a member of the Eco Island Taskforce, says his group's long-standing push for the islands has been renewed with the Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) preparing to start dredging in the bay next month.

The archipelago could be created from non-toxic material to be dredged up, dumped on existing spoil sites, Mr Murphy told AAP.

It would be located equal distance from Werribee, Sandringham and Melbourne's Docklands, he said.

"On a day like today, it would be packed," he said.

Mr Murphy said the plan was more environmentally friendly than dumping millions of tonnes of rock and sand on the seabed and would create new land the size of Melbourne's CBD.

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Ill fish discovered in Port Phillip Bay

http://news.smh.com.au/ill-fish-discovered-in-port-phillip-bay/20080118-1mnj.html

The health of Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay is under scrutiny just weeks before dredging is due to start, with the discovery of sickly fish, a Fairfax newspaper reports.

The Environment Protection Authority is investigating evidence that at least seven species of fish are ill or carry lesions, The Age newspaper said.

Laboratory test are being carried out on flathead, blowfish and cobbler following anecdotal reports of lesions on four other species, trevally, whiting, ludrick and bream.

The fish all come from the north-west part of Port Phillip Bay between Port Melbourne and Werribee South.

Reports indicate the problem might have started in December.

Health authorities have warned people not to eat or touch the fish.

"As a precautionary measure, people should avoid touching or eating any fish that have lesions, or are lethargic and looking generally unwell," a Department of Human Services spokesman told the newspaper.

The news has prompted renewed calls to reconsider the controversial bay dredging project, which could release new toxins and contaminants into the bay.

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Scientists question Yarra toxic sediment

http://news.smh.com.au/scientists-question-yarra-toxic-sediment/20080121-1n3s.html

Testing of the possible effects of dredging toxic silt from the mouth of the Yarra River as part of the controversial $1 billion channel deepening project is inadequate, scientists say.

While the CSIRO was approved the project, senior scientists have told The Age newspaper the Port of Melbourne Corporation had not answered key questions about what might happen when the silt, which contains 150 years of heavy metal and pesticide pollution, is dredged and dumped in the middle of Port Phillip Bay.

Former CSIRO environmental projects office chief Dr Graha Harris said the port's last report on the project's environmental impact was not a true ecological risk assessment that may not give a full indication of contamination levels.

"My best judgement is that this document tends to downplay key risks associated with human and environmental impacts and assumes more rapid recovery of the bay after the project than may be the case," he said.

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lets hope they don't start trying to ram this ship and throw acid on it:

Protesters greet Dutch dredging ship

http://news.smh.com.au/protesters-greet-dutch-dredging-ship/20080129-1onr.html

The giant dredging ship, the Queen of The Netherlands, has been greeted by protesters waving red flags and a flotilla including kayakers on its arrival in Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay.

The channel deeping project to begin on Friday will involve the removal of 23 million cubic metres of sand, rock and toxic sediment from the bay to enable larger, super container ships to dock.

The Blue Wedges Coalition, which will make last ditch application in the Federal Court on Tuesday to have the project overturned, said the red flags signalled distress.

"There are some kayakers intending to enter the Yarra (in protest), but without breaking any marine regulations."

Mr Lawler said Dive Victoria had three chartered boats and there were several smaller, private boats that joined the flotilla as part of the protest.

The PoMC and the Victorian government claim the project will bring $2 billion in economic spin-offs.

Meanwhile, Victorian Premier John Brumby has been forced to defend a decision not to release contract details of the dredging of Port Phillip Bay after the contract price was given to the European stock exchange.

The Victorian government and the Port of Melbourne Corporation had refused to say how much the Dutch dredging company, Royal Boksalis Westminster, would be paid for its work, citing commercial-in-confidence restrictions.

But Fairfax newspapers reported on Tuesday that the figure of $500 million already had been provided to the Euronext stock exchange in Europe.

A spokesman for Boksalis, Roel Berends, told Fairfax from Amsterdam the PoMC had agreed the contract's value could be made public in Europe.

http://news.smh.com.au/stirring-up-toxic-bay-best-practice/20080222-1txl.html

Stirring up two million cubic metres of toxic silt and dumping it in a containment facility in Port Phillip Bay is "best practice", the Port of Melbourne says.

Work on the containment bund in the north of the bay is set to begin on March 1 after the Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) won the right to expand dredging in the Federal Court on Thursday.

PoMC chief executive officer Stephen Bradford said the channel deepening project and planned toxic dump had been signed off by an independent inquiry.

"The inquiry also noted that the confinement of the dredged material was a substantial improvement over historical approaches," he said.

"It said that the bund and capping process is safer than past practices and is considered best practice."

The port will dump two million cubic metres of toxic silt dredged from the Yarra River into a clay storage bund in the north of the bay.