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[edit] Join your Community and say NO to destructive dredging in the Rip at the Heads and toxic dumping in the north of the Bay! POMC, WE ARE WATCHING! Supporting groups www.bluewedges.org www.operationquarrantine.com www.saveourbay.com.au www.bayvigil.org

[edit] Welcome to the Save the Bay website

This site is set up and maintained by citizens concerned about the over development of both Port Phillip and Western Port bays, both from a commercial and industrial perspective.

[edit] Port Phillip Bay

The Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC) is asking Victorians to sanction a range of costly environmental, social and economic risks, including a toxic dump in the Bay, so that just a few of the world’s supersized container vessels and oil tankers can enter the Bay fully loaded.

[edit] Super-size Shipping and economy myths

Some of these supersized ships may not come to Melbourne for 15 years, if indeed, ever. In 2005 /2006 of all the container ships that visited Melbourne's Port, only 2% needed tidal assistance on entry and exit!

Melbourne is the end of the international trade route, with drop offs at other Ports on the way, so it is natural that ships may not always be fully loaded when they arrive at Melbourne, or leave fully loaded. Empty containers are dropped off at the Port and stored, and picked up again and used later.

PoMC apparently recorded one of their best trade years in this last financial year, without the channels being deepened! Trade through the Port is set to quadruple by 2030, regardless of whether the channels are deepened or not.

Twice as many imports as exports come through the Port, so this is definitely more about imports. More imports means less food is grown or products made in Australia, and that means less jobs in Australia. A further slap in the face for those primary producers and manufacturers trying to compete with the barrage of cheap imports. Opening the floodgates will see many businesses go to the wall.

The cost of deepening the Channels has blown out to almost a billion dollars, with undisclosed State Government (taxpayer) contribution not included in that estimate. A levy on each container reduces that Port's competitiveness, and how can the Project be of economic benefit to Victorian taxpayers if we end up footing the bill?

[edit] A jewel in Victoria's tourism crown

The Southern waters of Australia, including Port Phillip Bay and entrance, has the highest diversity of marine species anywhere in the world. 90% of species occur NOWHERE else on earth! Many of those species have not even been fully studied, and although Marine National Parks have been created to protect this beautiful underwater world, we might lose it, and for what?

[edit] Erosion at the Rip & Entrance

A major concern is the erosion that has happened at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay since the Trial Dredging Program conducted in Aug/Oct 2005.

In the PoMC's own Scour Report, ten new scour holes up to three metres deep (with matching two metre high accretion mounds) have opened up in just 21 months since, in the trial dredge area alone, and three stable relic holes have further deepened.

Taking off the hard capping rock and exposing softer sedimentary layers is like taking the enamel off your teeth. The currents at the Rip are very strong, and large chunks of hard capping rock are still moving around and causing great damage, and pose a risk to Marine National Park and Shipping alike.

In this Scour Report, grave concern is expressed as to how far the erosion will continue, how deep it will go, and if the scour holes go sideways, they will breach the lip of the canyon, causing disastrous damage to the canyon walls. Blasting was relatively minor compared to this scale of damage now occurring, and proposed to occur, if the Project begins in ernest.

[edit] Potential innundation of low-lying land

Tidal movements and hydrodynamics have altered since the trial dredge program. PoMC have adopted a wait and see approach, and have admitted in writing elsewhere in the SEES report that innundation of low-lying land will occur, and potential damage to the Aquifer system. This means changes to the underground water table. Is this the world's best technology and practice that we were promised?

[edit] The toxic dump in the Bay

Three million cubic metres of toxic Yarra River Sediment will be dredged up and dumped into an open clay-walled bund.

This toxic sediment is too toxic and too costly to bury on dry land, so it will be disposed of in the Northern end of the Bay, and the open bund will be capped after about 18 months, or when it has finished consolidating.

The toxic sediment reports were found to be incomplete; core samples from the hotspots to be dredged are needed desparately. There is missing data in regards to dioxins.

A highly dangerous place to test, let alone dredge it out!

[edit] Now for the legal stuff

Every business and coporation is bound by a serious set of laws called the Trade Practices Act 1974.

It is an Act to make sure that everybody treats one another fairly and ethically in business, and does the right thing. There are stiff penalties if a business or corporation breaks the laws in that Act.

The Trade Practices Act should apply to everyone equally. However, this Act has not been allowed to be enforced against the Port of Melbourne Corporation.

Sections 51AA, 51AB, and 51AC bind the Port of Melbourne Corporation, and if we had fair and impartial application of the Trade Practices Act 1974 in the Federal Court of Australia, and if we had access to the Federal Court of Australia, the Channel Deepening Project would not go ahead.

As a matter of urgency, the new Rudd lead Government needs to repeal Section 39 of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 as it excludes electors from the courts, and Order 46 Rule 7A Federal Court Rules (as it allows Judges to exclude people from court absolutely on their own whim), so that ordinary people can access the Federal Court without restrictions, without the risk of a 'costs order' being imposed by a single judge before a trial is held.

The Parliament of the Commonwealth has made provision for jury trial in Sections 40 and 41 of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976, but no Judge has ever allowed a jury to exercise the Judicial power of the Commonwealth.

The Trade Practices Act 1974 is administered by the Treasurer, and it is his duty to see it is enforced. It prohibited exclusionary clauses in contracts, by Labor amendments made in 1995, in Section 45 Trade Practices Act 1974, but the previous Government was not prepared to allow them to come into effect.

We need confirmation that this Act will now apply to everyone equally.

Here is the full text of a letter written by Mornington Peninsula Shire Councillor Susan Beveridge to the Prime Minister.

If you would like to check any references to Legislation you will find links here...

[edit] Do you object to the dredging of Port Phillip Bay?

You can do something about it by:

• write to the Prime Minister
• signing a Mandate
• sending politicans a binding instruction in the form of a My Will letter.

[edit] Western Port

The Government is planning a major shipping terminal in Western Port with a port ultimately handling 24 shipping berths and averaging 6.5 ships arriving each day together with 10,000 trucks and 113 freight trains.

The impact on the region will be significant. Read more...

[edit] What can you do to take effective action?

Fortunately there are a number of courses of action available to you. These are:

[edit] Write to the Prime Minister

Write a letter of objection to the Prime Minister. You will find an example letter here...

[edit] Sign a People's Mandate

Sign a People's Mandate. over 40,000 people on the Mornington Peninsula have already signed this mandate. You can read more about this here...

[edit] Write a "MY WILL" letter

Write a "MY WILL" letter to your elected representatives. You can read more about this here...

Please feel free to browse and use the material on this web site.

Finally, we thank you for your patience, parts of this site are still under construction.