A Mornington Peninsula Shire Facebook poll asking residents about their view on the AGL Gas import project at Crib Point has resulted in overwhelming opposition to the project.
The one week poll (25/8 – 1/9) asked the Shire’s Facebook community to vote on whether the State Government should allow the project to proceed.
The results to the following question – Do you support the proposed AGL and APA Gas Import Jetty and Pipeline project at Crib Point? were:
NO 1,932
YES 131
Shire Mayor Cr Sam Hearn said this emphatic response from our community aligns with Council’s position that the project poses an unacceptable risk to the environment for unproven economic and resource gains.
“The result also supports the feedback we’ve received expressing significant concern about environmental impacts and the over industrialisation of Crib Point”.
“The community and Council are in lock-step on this issue – we don’t want the AGL project to proceed”, concluded Mayor Hearn.
Cerberus Ward Councillor Kate Roper said this result was consistent with community sentiment over the past months.
“Since this initiative was first proposed I have received strong community opposition against the project”.
“The combination of Ramsar wetlands, migratory bird habitat, the UNESCO Western Port Biosphere Reserve and our special marine and coastal environment all add up to a unique mix of elements far too valuable to risk”.
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council recently voted to oppose the project in its submission to the State Government regarding the proposal’s Environmental Effects Statement (EES).
Council’s key areas of concern relate to:
- Greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, including unsatisfactory accounting of emissions from the project and a lack of offsets for those emissions that are identified
- Marine ecology and biodiversity, including impacts on the world renowned Western Port Bay Ramsar wetlands and UNESCO biosphere
- Terrestrial ecology, biodiversity and native vegetation, including loss of over 150,000 square metres of native vegetation, potential impacts on the endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot, Merran’s Sun Orchid and terrestrial fauna
- Groundwater, including potential impacts on aquifers and groundwater dependent ecosystems
- Amenity, particularly noise impacts on nearby residents during construction and operation
- Transport and traffic: the inadequacy of the Transport Impact Assessment for the purpose of competently assessing the traffic impacts of the project.
Council’s submission to the State Government regarding the EES can be viewed here:
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council does not have any decision-making powers with respect to this project. The decision on whether to go ahead with the proposal rests with the State and Federal Governments.
