Save Port Phillip Bay from toxic discharges
The issue
Port Phillip Bay is not just a body of water; it is part of life for very many of the 5.4 million Melburnians who live, work, and play near its shores. There is an important fishing industry, swimming, sailing, beach going, scuba diving, or just walking along its many beaches.
Unfortunately, Port Phillip Bay is under serious threat from toxic discharges that pose a serious risk to its ecosystem and the well-being of those who live, work or play in, on or near Port Phillip Bay. A foreign company called VOPAK is only a few steps away from getting approval to discharge 480 million liters of chlorine contaminated discharge into Port Phillip Bay, every day for a minimum of 10 years. Yes, you are reading this correctly, 480 million liters of discharge per day! If you had known about this, you would have had 30 days to lodge a submission commenting on their 7000 pages report. The deadline was 26 June 2026. VOPAK's report (Called the EES) states that despite the acknowledged possibilities of serious damage to the marine ecosystem and its inhabitants, the effects of this massive discharge is deemed "low, very low or negligible". The reality is very different.
VOPAK proposes to moor a gigantic vessel called an FSRU roughly between Avalon and Port Arlington in order the re-gasify frozen LNG, so they can sell it to the citizens of greater Melbourne at what are some of the highest prices for gas on the planet. The LNG will be purchased on the world market, which by definition will include the gas that we exported in the first place, and then re-imported into Australia.
The pretext is that we are going to run out of gas in the near future. Australia is one of the top three biggest gas producers in the world. We are NOT going to run out of gas in the foreseeable future. The tight gas supply to Victorian consumers is completely self inflicted by our politicians and the big gas exporters. Unlike other countries and indeed states, we allow almost all our (Victorian) gas to be exported so there is not enough left for us. Hence the current sky high prices. There are alternative supply lines to satisfy Victorian consumers and alternative technologies for re-gasification, all ignored by VOPAK.
The process they use is called open loop re-gasification , an outdated , highly polluting technology, that was discredited by the IAC for the the -failed- AGL bid to moor a similar plant in Westernport Bay. Basically, you suck millions of liters of seawater into very large heat exchangers, heavily chlorinate it to stop sea creatures clogging your pipes, transfer the temperature of the seawater to the liquefied gas, thus turning it into gas vapour so it can be pumped into the pipeline, then spew the chlorinated under-cooled water back into the bay, 480 million liters a day. Instead of using their own expensive gas, and to avoid carbon credits, they will use electricity from the Victorian grid (which btw, is 59% from coal fired power stations) for the pumps. As a heat source to re-warm the liquid LNG, they propose to use an entirely free resource: the waters of Port Philip Bay.
VOPAK focuses on the negative or otherwise effects of the Chlorine in the discharge. This is bad enough, but it conveniently ignores the far bigger problem. This is the potential short and long term effect of the Chlorine by-products, created when chlorine reacts with naturally occurring Bromium in seawater, and then subsequently reacts with organic matter in the seawater to create highly toxic substances. The resulting genetic damage to marine organisms has been shown to occur at large distances from the discharge point (10 km or more) But that is not all. Some of these toxic bromoforms,are not only highly toxic, they are bio accumulative, meaning that once in the food chain they stay and move up the chain. Port Philip Bay being an important source of fish and shellfish, means it will end up on the plates of not only us but of our children and grandchildren. There is strong scientific proof from credible sources for this and some of these sources were quoted in the rationale for turning down the AGL proposal. Again I note that multiple less polluting alternative technologies are available and indeed are used in the NSW Port Kembla re-gasification plant.
Last but not least, the area VOPAK is not giving enough credence to is that of the cumulative effects of all polluting industries and activities put together. Already the bay is having to cope with the historical and current pollution caused by for instance automotive, petrochemical, aluminum industries, urban and agricultural run off, the Western Treatment plant outfalls, shipping and port traffic, the Port of Melbourne dredging Program etc. We now know that ecosystems have a tipping point beyond which damage becomes widespread and in many cases irreversible: the bay becomes a dead zone. A confronting example of this is the Oslo Fjord (bay) in Norway. The authorities allowed an never ending procession of new polluters to add to the discharges into the bay, some of which may not have done permanent damage by itself, but cumulatively, they pushed the Oslo Fjord over the edge. Large parts of the Fjord are now desert-like dead zones unable to sustain any life. Recreational fishing for the iconic Norwegian Cod, has been banned altogether due to health and other concerns. And no one knows how to fix this.
Knowing about this frightening scenario, why would we allow this to happen here? Imagine our bay without the iconic Snapper or even Flathead, our mussels and scallops, not to mention dolphins, as well as the astounding bird life that is part of the bay's ecosystem. And all that for the sake of in this case, a foreign company cashing in on a dysfunctional gas market.
Sofar, VOPAK’s plan has worked, hardly anyone knew about this and the deadline for submissions has passed and with a bit of luck (for VOPAK), the decision can be pushed through before the elections. But we should let the Victorian and Federal Governments know that this is not on. Governments set lofty environmental targets with deadlines decades away. But in the meantime, they are allowing and in many cases are facilitating the destruction of our immediate living environment. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to not let that happen.
Please help protect Port Phillip Bay by signing this petition today. Together, we can make a difference and ensure a healthier future for our bay and for all who cherish its shores.
821
The issue
Port Phillip Bay is not just a body of water; it is part of life for very many of the 5.4 million Melburnians who live, work, and play near its shores. There is an important fishing industry, swimming, sailing, beach going, scuba diving, or just walking along its many beaches.
Unfortunately, Port Phillip Bay is under serious threat from toxic discharges that pose a serious risk to its ecosystem and the well-being of those who live, work or play in, on or near Port Phillip Bay. A foreign company called VOPAK is only a few steps away from getting approval to discharge 480 million liters of chlorine contaminated discharge into Port Phillip Bay, every day for a minimum of 10 years. Yes, you are reading this correctly, 480 million liters of discharge per day! If you had known about this, you would have had 30 days to lodge a submission commenting on their 7000 pages report. The deadline was 26 June 2026. VOPAK's report (Called the EES) states that despite the acknowledged possibilities of serious damage to the marine ecosystem and its inhabitants, the effects of this massive discharge is deemed "low, very low or negligible". The reality is very different.
VOPAK proposes to moor a gigantic vessel called an FSRU roughly between Avalon and Port Arlington in order the re-gasify frozen LNG, so they can sell it to the citizens of greater Melbourne at what are some of the highest prices for gas on the planet. The LNG will be purchased on the world market, which by definition will include the gas that we exported in the first place, and then re-imported into Australia.
The pretext is that we are going to run out of gas in the near future. Australia is one of the top three biggest gas producers in the world. We are NOT going to run out of gas in the foreseeable future. The tight gas supply to Victorian consumers is completely self inflicted by our politicians and the big gas exporters. Unlike other countries and indeed states, we allow almost all our (Victorian) gas to be exported so there is not enough left for us. Hence the current sky high prices. There are alternative supply lines to satisfy Victorian consumers and alternative technologies for re-gasification, all ignored by VOPAK.
The process they use is called open loop re-gasification , an outdated , highly polluting technology, that was discredited by the IAC for the the -failed- AGL bid to moor a similar plant in Westernport Bay. Basically, you suck millions of liters of seawater into very large heat exchangers, heavily chlorinate it to stop sea creatures clogging your pipes, transfer the temperature of the seawater to the liquefied gas, thus turning it into gas vapour so it can be pumped into the pipeline, then spew the chlorinated under-cooled water back into the bay, 480 million liters a day. Instead of using their own expensive gas, and to avoid carbon credits, they will use electricity from the Victorian grid (which btw, is 59% from coal fired power stations) for the pumps. As a heat source to re-warm the liquid LNG, they propose to use an entirely free resource: the waters of Port Philip Bay.
VOPAK focuses on the negative or otherwise effects of the Chlorine in the discharge. This is bad enough, but it conveniently ignores the far bigger problem. This is the potential short and long term effect of the Chlorine by-products, created when chlorine reacts with naturally occurring Bromium in seawater, and then subsequently reacts with organic matter in the seawater to create highly toxic substances. The resulting genetic damage to marine organisms has been shown to occur at large distances from the discharge point (10 km or more) But that is not all. Some of these toxic bromoforms,are not only highly toxic, they are bio accumulative, meaning that once in the food chain they stay and move up the chain. Port Philip Bay being an important source of fish and shellfish, means it will end up on the plates of not only us but of our children and grandchildren. There is strong scientific proof from credible sources for this and some of these sources were quoted in the rationale for turning down the AGL proposal. Again I note that multiple less polluting alternative technologies are available and indeed are used in the NSW Port Kembla re-gasification plant.
Last but not least, the area VOPAK is not giving enough credence to is that of the cumulative effects of all polluting industries and activities put together. Already the bay is having to cope with the historical and current pollution caused by for instance automotive, petrochemical, aluminum industries, urban and agricultural run off, the Western Treatment plant outfalls, shipping and port traffic, the Port of Melbourne dredging Program etc. We now know that ecosystems have a tipping point beyond which damage becomes widespread and in many cases irreversible: the bay becomes a dead zone. A confronting example of this is the Oslo Fjord (bay) in Norway. The authorities allowed an never ending procession of new polluters to add to the discharges into the bay, some of which may not have done permanent damage by itself, but cumulatively, they pushed the Oslo Fjord over the edge. Large parts of the Fjord are now desert-like dead zones unable to sustain any life. Recreational fishing for the iconic Norwegian Cod, has been banned altogether due to health and other concerns. And no one knows how to fix this.
Knowing about this frightening scenario, why would we allow this to happen here? Imagine our bay without the iconic Snapper or even Flathead, our mussels and scallops, not to mention dolphins, as well as the astounding bird life that is part of the bay's ecosystem. And all that for the sake of in this case, a foreign company cashing in on a dysfunctional gas market.
Sofar, VOPAK’s plan has worked, hardly anyone knew about this and the deadline for submissions has passed and with a bit of luck (for VOPAK), the decision can be pushed through before the elections. But we should let the Victorian and Federal Governments know that this is not on. Governments set lofty environmental targets with deadlines decades away. But in the meantime, they are allowing and in many cases are facilitating the destruction of our immediate living environment. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to not let that happen.
Please help protect Port Phillip Bay by signing this petition today. Together, we can make a difference and ensure a healthier future for our bay and for all who cherish its shores.
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Petition created on 17 July 2026