Preserve Western Port Action Group

14/08/2026

🔗 https://aus-geo.com.au/go/ecological-grief

How are you feeling about H5N1 bird flu? Let us know in the comments.

✍️ Chloe Watfern, Claudia Benham & .aunz
🎓 UNSW and The University of Queensland

About the authors: Chloe Watfern is a Senior Research Associate at UNSW and Claudia Benham is a Senior lecturer at The University of Queensland.

05/08/2026

24/11/2025

17/11/2025

Join the Weeds of Western Port Project on iNaturalist!

We’re calling all citizen scientists, coastal walkers and nature lovers to help us map and identify invasive weeds along the Western Port coast. 🌊

By joining our Weeds of Western Port project on iNaturalist, you can:
🔎 Upload your photos of local plants and weeds
🤝 Connect with others to help identify species
🗺️ Contribute valuable data to protect our coastal ecosystems

Every observation helps build a clearer picture of where weeds are spreading — and supports local action to restore biodiversity.

📲 Not sure how to get started? Stay tuned — something is coming soon to make joining in even easier!

Get started today: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/weeds-of-western-port-coast-wow

Together, we can tackle weeds of Western Port, one observation at a time. 💚

16/11/2025

Have your say on the draft Western Port Ramsar Site Management Plan, which covers the next seven years. Comments are due by 4 December.

Through science, collaboration and investment in wetland health, we’re helping to protect Western Port’s wetlands. Share what’s special to you about the site.

05/08/2025

Update: Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal in Western Port

Last week, federal environment minister Murray Watt decided that the Port of Hastings Corporation’s proposal to construct the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal (VRET) in Western Port must be assessed and approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act before it can proceed.
This means that the VRET proposal must be assessed for impacts on the ecology of the internationally significant Western Port Ramsar wetland, federally listed threatened species and ecological communities, and listed migratory species.
These matters of national environmental significance will be assessed under a bilateral agreement with Victoria, so they will be incorporated into the Victorian Environmental Effects Statement (EES) process that is already underway.
The VRET proposal will require extensive reclamation, dredging, and hardening of the coastline at a scale that we consider is unacceptable in a Ramsar wetland.
It has a 50-year design life and is not expected to be decommissioned, but instead upgraded and repurposed. Once this large-scale infrastructure is established, it risks opening the door to further industrialisation and dredging in the main channel. At what ecological cost?
The rationale for choosing the Western Port Ramsar wetland as the site for Victoria's primary, full-service assembly port for offshore wind development lacks detail. An alternative port selection or a multi-port solution may avoid or reduce environmental harm.
Yet, the Victorian Government has refused to release the business case and underlying analysis of alternatives to demonstrate that it has genuinely tried to avoid destroying or substantially modifying areas of Ramsar wetland.
We call on the Victorian Government to ensure that the EES process is rigorous and transparent, including:
• Public release of the business case and underlying analysis of alternative sites and relative environmental impacts.
• Development of a Strategic Framework for Western Port, supported by a marine spatial plan, so that combined and cumulative impacts of the VRET alongside other activities in the Western Port Ramsar wetland can be adequately understood.
The community has been advocating for a funded Western Port strategic framework and marine spatial plan since 2021, following the EES process for the AGL gas import terminal at Crib Point.
Image: VRET footprint at Port of Hastings, as shown in the EPBC referral at
https://epbcpublicportal.environment.gov.au/all-referrals/project-referral-summary/?id=bea65e4e-f94b-f011-877a-000d3a6a4556

26/06/2025

Have Your Say on the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal Proposal for Hastings

The refined proposal for the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal at the Port of Hastings has just been released — and the public has only 10 days to comment.

Western Port is a place of global environmental significance. Any proposal of this scale deserves careful consideration — and community voices matter.

🗓️ Submissions close 9 July 2025
🔗 Read the proposal & make a submission:

https://www.biosphere.org.au/latest-news/victorian-renewable-energy-terminal-proposal-for-hastings-have-your-say/

The Biosphere Foundation will be making a formal submission. We encourage everyone to review the proposal and tell the Commonwealth Government what matters to you.

Together, let’s ensure Western Port’s future is shaped with care.

21/05/2025

The Dolphin Research Institute is pleased to share with you all our newly released white paper, “More Than a Migratory Corridor: Humpback Whale Feeding and Calving in Bass Strait.”

Bringing together nearly two decades of dedicated research and citizen science, this report documents validated observations of humpback whales feeding and calf presence in Bass Strait. It presents evidence that changes the understanding of Bass Strait’s ecological importance to humpback whales.

This new information should be considered in environmental assessments, policy development, and offshore management decisions. By making these findings publicly available, we aim to support greater transparency, encourage further research, and contribute to a better understanding of humpback whales in Bass Strait.

This work is the result of a multi-organisation collaboration between the Dolphin Research Institute, Fathom Pacific and Wildlife Coast Cruises and we would like to acknowledge and thank all those involved for their contributions.

We also wish to thank the many citizen scientists who have helped us learn more about humpback whales in Bass Strait by sharing their sightings over the years.

Read “More Than a Migratory Corridor: Humpback Whale Feeding and Calving in Bass Strait” with the link below:

https://www.dolphinresearch.org.au/more-than-a-migratory-corridor/

30/01/2025

https://www.worldwetlandsday.org

20/11/2024

The Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal proposed for the Port of Hastings in Western Port would require reclamation and dredging.
The state and federal governments require the impacts to be investigated through an Environment Effects Statement (EES).
Public comment is now invited on the EES draft scoping requirements, which set out the matters to be investigated and documented in preparation of the EES.
The draft scoping requirements are available on the Engage Victoria platform and are open for public comment until midnight on 11 December 2024.
You can access the draft scoping requirements at:

Public comment is invited on the draft scoping requirements for the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal EES