Victorian Labor ignores community outrage

Chris Johnson, Queenscliffe

They came in red coats, scarves and hats, wrapped in red blankets and waving red flags. One-hundred-and-fifty residents of the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria called on the state Labor government to reverse its decision to dredge Port Phillip Bay on August 5.

Protest organiser Catherine Jones said: "If the trial dredging begins, it will be like an atomic bomb. We won't be able to undo the damage."

The deepening of the Port Phillip Bay channel remains a contentious issue. More than 50 community groups in Victoria are opposing it, organising under the umbrella of the Blue Wedge Coalition.

The government's own environmental impact statement supported the opponents' concerns and recommended further research before dredging begins. But the government is defying the experts and wants to begin "trial" dredging immediately. The trial will run for nine weeks and be carried out by a massive dredge brought from the Netherlands for the job. The so-called trial will, in effect, be the first stage of the channel deepening.

After listening to speakers, the protesters marched to the Tobin Drive headquarters of the dredging operation, chanting, "Port of Melbourne go away, we don't want you to destroy our bay!" The Bellarine Peninsula community group Sea Star is made up of tourist operators, recreational fishers, environmentalists, concerned individuals, Greens and Socialist Alliance activists. Sue Pillikers, a Socialist Alliance member, told Green Left Weekly: "We all came together because this dredging will have disastrous effects on the bay and destroy the livelihoods of many locals. The construction union's slogan of 'Touch one, touch all' is clearly demonstrated here at a community level. Solidarity remains one of the community's greatest strengths."

From Green Left Weekly, August 3, 2005.

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From GLW issue 636