Berninneit earns its
​green stripes
July 15, 2027 - Arts and cultural hub becomes just the second Passivhaus-certified public building of its type in the world.

Woodland protection gathers pace
July 17, 2026 - Another planning hurdle falls in long campaign to protect the Western Port Woodlands.

World-first wastewater trial on Phillip Island 
Aug 28, 2026 - Floating wetlands a promising way to decrease wastewater emissions: new research

A beach takes shape
Aug 1, 2026 - After weeks of dredging, Inverloch Surf Beach is beginning to look like a sandy surf beach again.

Bass Coast braces for deadly bird flu
July 3, 2026 - Catastrophic losses in Antarctic penguin and seal colonies raise concerns for Phillip Island's wildlife icons.

Don’t mention the ‘R’ word
May 21, 2026 - Councillors at odds over staged “retreat” for vulnerable coastal communities

Home delivery, minus the diesel
May 19, 2025 - Prefab nine-star home trucked to The Cape in Australia’s first carbon-free housing journey.

Fire team revives Bunurong tradition
May 20, 2026 - A cultural burn in the Gurdies last week is the first undertaken in the area for almost two centuries.

Rental remedies
May 18, 2026 - Helping renters to share in the energy transition to warmer homes and lower power bills.

The power trip speeds up… again
April 3, 2026 - Are we there yet? Getting closer, writes Werner Theinert

The one that got away
Oct 16, 2025 - The State Government missed its chance to buy the old Holden Proving Ground. Now we have to hope a Chinese car company will do the right thing, writes Neil Rankine.  

Holding back the tide
Oct 14, 2025 - Neil Daly asks whether it’s time to let nature prevail at Queensferry.

Nature to the rescue
Aug 16, 2025 - A landmark project will use mangroves, saltmarsh and seagrass as the first line of defence against climate change in Western Port.

Slogans won’t save our beach
July 2025 - Trevor Forge makes the case for listening to the experts on Inverloch beach.

The power trip speeds up
July 19, 2025 - Is it finally time to install a home battery? Energy guru Werner Theinert does the sums so you don’t have to.

Winding down?
July 22, 2025 - Wonthaggi’s windmills are approaching their use-by date. By Catherine Watson

​More than water
May 16, 2025 - A spectacular night sky photo by Iryna MacMillan has won first prize in West Gippsland Catchment Management Authority’s photo competition. 

In the line of fire
May 15, 2025 - Managing fire for people and wildlife isn't rocket science, says Professor Mike Clarke. It’s much more complex than that.

Russ stands his ground
Feb 1, 2025 - You wouldn’t pick Russ Williams for a typical greenie but he’s ready to defend his patch of bush.

Return of the wild
Dec 3, 2025 - Trees and animals are returning to a windswept coastal patch near Wonthaggi that was grazed for decades.

Who’s in charge of tidal matters?     
Dec 10, 2025 - The two major parties show little interest in helping Victorian communities adapt to coastal erosion, writes Neil Daly. 

More power to you, Oliver
June 25, 2025 - When federal leaders keep detonating carbon bombs, our kids have every right to be angry, writes Michael Whelan.

​Growing together
May 12, 2025 – Friendship and learning flourish alongside the plants at the Wonthaggi Seed Bank and Nursery.

Hit them where it hurts!
April 16, 2025 - Too young to vote - but Anabelle Bremner is urging climate action at the ballot box.

Pillage and plunder in Warn Marin Western Port
Feb 2, 2025 - Industrialisation of the bay began 30 years before permanent white settlement, writes Christine Grayden. 

Can you hear it?
June 25, 2025 - Time for more of our politicians to get out of Spring Street and spend some time ‘down on the farm’, writes Neil Daly.

​Wombat woes
Pushed into an ever-dwindling corridor of habitat, San Remo’s wombats need our help, writes Eve Kelly.

​Swimming against the tide
Feb 27, 2025 - There may be lessons for Bass Coast in another small coastal town’s attempts to halt coastal erosion.

​Walking Screw Creek Trail
Dec 9, 2024 – It was destined to be cleared for housing, but after a massive community effort it's now a wildlife refuge and Bass Coast’s newest walking trail. Linda Cuttriss reports.  

​Time for action  
Nov 16, 2024 - Finally we have a pathway to address Inverloch beach erosion, writes Ed Thexton. Now it’s time for action – and quickly.

​Rich pickings in proving ground
Oct 14, 2024 - The largest stand of critically endangered Strzelecki Gums in existence has been found at the former Holden Proving Ground, confirming its status as a biodiversity hotspot. 

​The tourist trap
Sept 10, 2024 - Council’s flawed rural tourism strategy could be the death knell for farming on Phillip Island, warns Greg Johnson

Saving our beaches
Sept 12, 2024 - Conservation Society pushes for urgent dune reconstruction to prevent further damage to the Inverloch surf beach. 

What remains
May 16, 2024 - The eroded vegetated dunes of Inverloch hold more than most of us could imagine, writes Ed Thexton

​Get used to it
March 22, 2024 - As climate change accelerates, Helen Zervopoulos says it’s time to stop the blame game and get ready.

The thin green line
March 22, 2024 - Ed Thexton visits the Corinella Foreshore and finds the locals have achieved something remarkable. 

​Leave our trees alone!
Dec 12, 2024 - A classic David & Goliath story … residents of a quiet bushland enclave versus a multinational giant. By Jan Grimes

​The koala crew
Nov 15, 2024 - The once common koala appears to be hurtling towards extinction in the wild. Kelly Smith and helpers are working to stop that happening. 

​In plain view
Oct 12, 2024 - Our new rural tourism strategy threatens the very landscape that brings tourists to Phillip Island, writes Linda Cuttriss. 

Our war on pitto
July 11, 2024 - This enemy overpowers everything in its way, but Jon Temby is equally pitiless. And the tide is turning. 

To solar or not to solar - that is the question
Sept 12, 2024 - Tim Herring crunches the numbers on home battery storage. 

​Why the secrecy?
June 14, 2024 - Sand miners ride roughshod over our community with mining regulator’s acquiescence, writes Neil Rankine

​The laggard
April 17, 2024 - For every farmer working to retain native vegetation, there are neighbours who continue to clear it, because that’s what Dad did. Ed Thexton reports.

The power trip continues
March 22, 2024 - The lights stayed on during our recent prolonger power outage, reports Werner Theinert.

​Take that, Westpac!
“A disgrace … charlatans of the worst order … dirty money …” Cr Michael Whelan explains why council is giving the big four banks the flick.

​Tell them they’re dreaming
Dec 13, 2023 - From Bass Coast to the Murray Darling Basin, there’s a credibility gap in our response to the climate crisis, writes Ken Blackman   

​The call of nature
Oct 20, 2023 - We call them nature strips but only a few of them deserve that title. Catherine Watson surveys the good, the bad and the ugly. 

Return of El Niño bodes ill for Inverloch beach
Sept 21, 2023 - It's like the death of an old friend, writes Philip Heath, as another old banksia succumbs to the retreating coastline.

​The battle for Western Port
Sept 21, 2023 - Successive threats to Western Port have been stopped only by massive public opposition, writes Neil Daly.

Thumbs down for ‘eco-retreat’
Aug 17, 2023 -  Questions remain about the council's new rural tourism strategy after councillors reject Kitty Miller Bay eco-resort.

​Albert Ruttle wetlands safe … for now
Aug 17, 2023 - Residents of the Inverloch estate are waiting for the next move in the long-running battle over their wetlands.

​A cautionary tale
June 22, 2023 - Given the vexed history of the Kitty Miller Wetlands, Linda Cuttriss is sceptical about an eco-tourism proposal for the site. 

Paul's patch
May 17, 2023 - “I can’t save the world … but I can make a difference locally,“ Paul Speirs told Gill Heal. 

​The power trip continues
May 17, 2023 - The renewable energy revolution is taking place somewhere near you, writes Werner Theinert.

​Mission Crimson Berry
May 17, 2023 - A team of ecological crusaders salvages critically endangered plants from Wilsons Prom to help regenerate the species on Phillip Island.

Trees versus views
April 22, 2023 - Like most civil wars, the battle over the Corinella foreshore reserve is complicated and goes back several generations. Catherine Watson reports from the frontline.

​A chance encounter of the seedling kind
April 19, 2023 - Neil Daly discovers scientists – citizen and otherwise – are working towards the same end on the Queensferry foreshore.  

Every seal counts
March 22, 2023 - On International Seal Day, a Phillip Island Nature Parks researcher is appealing to local fishers not to discard fishing line. 

Time for a ceasefire
Feb 17, 2023 - Sally McNiece calls for the chainsaw brigade to lay down their arms while there’s still some remnant vegetation left to save.  ​

Let’s get together    
Jan 25, 2023 - Given the lack of political will to protect Western Port, Neil Daly proposes a citizens assembly with the results to be presented as a petition to Parliament. 

Plain sailing
Dec 14, 2023 - Some people dream of cruising the Pacific; others of cruising the Rhine; for Catherine Watson it was a cruise through the Tooradin mangroves.

Bikers versus orchids
Sept 22, 2023 - Mountain bike riders are cutting a swathe through The Gurdies forest, threatening some of Australia’s rarest orchids.

​The mangrove challenge
Sept 21, 2023 - Grand plans for blue carbon sinks in Western Port need to tackle the low success rate of mangrove planting, writes Neil Daly. 

Mangrove research bolstered
August 11, 2023 - The State Government is investing $1.2 million into improving mangrove, seagrass and saltmarsh habitats in Western Port.

The cars that ate Phillip Island
July 21, 2023 - We’re doing it for ourselves with community energy; now let’s turn our attention to community transport. Christine Grayden lays down her blueprint. 

Beneath our shifting sands
May 19, 2023 - Walk around Inverloch with Aunty Sonia Weston and you see her ancestral links to Country are lived every day, writes Sally McNiece.

Enjoying the ride
April 22, 2023 - Eight months in, EV driver Michael Nugent couldn't be happier, except  …

Nature’s cure
April 13, 2023 - An old Post story on Henry’s Creek Sanctuary inspires Margie Matheson to dream big. 

Adventures at VCAT
After a week spent binge-watching a pivotal case, Ed Thexton concludes that between the theatre and the tedium, a clash of world views is reduced to trivialities.

Further, wider, stronger
Feb 17, 2023 -Western Port and the hinterland are inextricably linked, writes Neil Daly

Yes please, more trees
Jan 27, 2023 - Cowes and Inverloch are the standout towns for tree cover in Bass Coast and San Remo is the barest.  ​

Inverloch dune works preferred option
Nov 11, 2022 - Conservation Society supports sand dune renourishment ahead of rock walls, writes Philip Heath.

What's a forest worth?
Oct 20, 2022 - Tim O’Brien questions the local environmental cost of Melbourne’s Big Build.

Hands off Western Port!
Oct 17, 2022 - In the past decade, more than 200 million has been spent on failed attempts to industrialise Western Port. A bold new plan aims to stop it happening again.

Stark choices on coastal assets
Oct 19, 2022 - From Bass Coast to Bells Beach, coastal councils are struggling to respond to local flood risks and coastal erosion, writes Bass Coast Mayor Michael Whelan.

​Island powers on
Sept 14, 2022 - Phillip Island’s vision to become fully renewable by 2030 is a step closer, with plans approved for a big battery and a trial of community energy storage.

​Environmental love-in-action
August 18, 2022 - The Sybil Disobedients cross the bay to stand with the Western Port Woodlands. Laura Brearley reports

My EV journey continues
July 21, 2022 - Michael Nugent asks four local EV pioneers about their experience of owning – and driving – an electric vehicle. 

A power for good
June 30, 2022 - Wanted: 100 Phillip Island households to share renewable energy.  Zoë Geyer explains the watts and volts of Bass Coast’s first neighbourhood battery tariff trial.

Locked out
June 17, 2022 - It’s meant to be a conduit for the community to raise issues of concern, but a Grantville mining committee operates more like a secret society, writes Neil Rankine. 

Harmers swamp 'under threat'
May 4, 2022 - Attempts to subdivide the swamp have been rebuffed for 70 years. John Old hopes the latest attempt will be treated the same way.  

How to talk to children about climate change
April 21, 2022 - Meg Humphry hopes her new book offers a gentle way into a very tough subject.

​Blue carbon skies ahead  
March 8, 2022 – Restoring mangrove, seagrass and saltmarsh ecosystems in Western Port could play a major part in reducing carbon emissions.

Crunch time for Inverloch
March 25, 2022 - The mapping is done and now it’s time to make some hard decisions on Inverloch’s eroding coastline. Catherine Watson reports 

The next small thing
March 9, 2022 - Ed Thexton reports on the latest in nest box technology, including new methods to deter Indian mynas and other raiders.

Sign of the times
March 9, 2022 - Clearing vegetation for the new Inverloch pathway reveals a sign erected by the council warning against the clearing of vegetation.

Detours ahead
Feb 23, 2022 - Dave Sutton calls for some fine tuning of the proposed inland pathway route between Inverloch and Wonthaggi to retain mature bushland, while Dave Drummond explains why a coastal route isn’t feasible. 

The Prom
Nov 28, 2022 - Lucinda Bain's prize winning essay celebrates the beauty of our world and our diminishing hope for the future. It ends on a hopeful, simple, profound fact. 

On the koala trail
Nov 13, 2022 - Genetic analysis confirm koalas in the Western Port Woodlands are a rare  remnant population. 

Power to the people
Oct 16, 2022 - From  the Andes Mountains to the shores of Western Port, communities and the natural environment are under pressure from governments’ focus on the bottom line. Neil Daly reports. 

​When knowledge is power
Oct 21, 2022 - Werner is explaining the miracle of heat pumps, striding the room like one of the old Energizer ads. Catherine Watson reports.

Harmers dustup
August 19, 2022 - Federal Labor MP Ged Kearney was once hailed as “swamp saviour Ged” for buying a swampy bit of land in Harmers Haven to save it from development. 

​Caring for Western Port Country
Sept 21, 2022 - Governments and developers will have carte blanche on Western Port until we fix our “box mentality”. 

Hello earthlings 
Aug 17, 2022 - Australia is planning to send a robot to the moon, writes Neil Daly.  Meanwhile back here on Earth the future of Western Port still hangs in the balance.

All hands on deck
June 30, 2022 - Western Port belongs to all Victorians, writes Neil Daly. Your vote can determine its future. 

On the koala trail
June 3, 2022 - Once koalas were hunted to the point of extinction. Catherine Watson joined a hunt for their survivors.

Spotlight on Coronet Bay
May 20, 2022 - Discovery of five swamp antechinus heartens those working to  improve biodiversity.

Back to earth
April 22, 2022 - We all have a part to play in regenerating the planet we share, writes Christine Grayden, and Earth Month seems a good time to start. 

Let’s join the dots
April 20, 2022 - Treating Western Port and the region as an entity is the best way to resolve the issues that plague it, writes Neil Daly. 

​Never mind the devastation; look at the vista
March 9, 2022 - There is nothing in the Distinctive Areas and Landscapes about how to protect our woodlands. There is, however, plenty about how  to protect sand mining. Catherine Watson reports

Crunch time
March 9, 2022 - The old Mazda has served Michael Nugent well but he’s ready for the EV revolution. He invites us to join him on the journey. 

Treasures in the woodlands
March 9, 2022 - Tim Herring's  close encounter with a mighty monitor lizard in the Western Port Woodlands.

It’s time we set the agenda
Jan 28, 2022 - If Western Port is to be saved, ‘the people’ have to set the agenda for the politicians to follow, writes Neil Daly.

‘Time is running out’
Dec 15, 2021 - The next few months are critical in the fight to save the Inverloch surf beach, writes Philip Heath.

​Swan & Clarke - a visionary team
Dec 3, 2021 - A former cattle grazing property at Rhyll, now a wildlife haven, forever links two great conservationists, writes Neil Daly.  

Woodlands on song
Nov 19, 2021 - When Colin Hay heard the Western Port woodlands were under threat, he decided to send a message – and a song – down under. 

​The sea won’t wait
Nov 19, 2021 - There might not be much of Inverloch’s beach left to save by the time a coastal hazard assessment is completed, writes Cr Leticia Laing. 

Words from the Woodlands
Oct 22, 2021 - Many of us have been walking in the woodlands lately. Now Laura Brearley invites us to share the experience through poetry or prose. 

​Local artists hold the line
Oct 22, 2021 - Artists back campaign to save the Western Port woodlands. Now bid online for their works. 

​Have we got a deal for you!
Sept 24, 2021 - Like to buy an electric vehicle but deterred by the cost? Totally Renewable Phillip Island wants to hear from you, writes Zoe Geyer.

Co-operate or perish!
Sept 24, 2021 - When our politicians fail us, writes David Arnault, it’s time to find our own allies. Cartoon by Natasha Williams-Novak

Road to the future
Sept 10, 2021 - A group of South Gippsland citizens are seeking a better way to live, for all in their community. David Arnault reports

Caught in the slipstream
August 27, 2021 - The transition to the renewable economy will be as revolutionary as the move from horse and cart to the steam engine, writes Michael Whelan, but Australia is being left behind.

​Test track back on the market
August 27, 2021 - The proposed resale of the Lang Lang Proving Grounds is a mixed blessing for a group campaigning to protect the region’s last significant forest.

How much is a forest worth?
August 18, 2021 - Local film-makers Terry Melvin and Laura Brearley turn the camera on sand mining in Bass Coast’s last significant forest.

Sand miners on notice
July 29, 2021 - Expert report raises alarm over toxic pollutants from sand mining in Grantville corridor entering Western Port.

The secret life of orchids
July 16, 2021 - Dick Wettenhall delves into the underworld of this miraculous plant (including sexual deception) and reveals the threat posed by sand mining to some of Victoria’s rarest orchid communities.      

Time to draw a line in the sand
June 18, 2021 - New mining projects in Bass Coast are a threat to Western Port’s precious wetlands, warns Professor Dick Wettenhall.  ​

Mining opposition gathers force
June 4, 2021 - Hundreds sign petition calling for a moratorium on more sand mines in Bass Coast’s last coastal forest. 

​‘Listen to the locals’
June 4, 2021 - Yallock-Bulluk coastal trail plan suffers from lack of local knowledge: Alliance 

What’s happening to our bush?
May 7, 2021 - Wonthaggi’s intrepid seed collectors brave the elements and a dwindling supply of seed to preserve our bush. Terri Allen reports

Hands off our bay
April 9, 2021 - Once more the community has had to ward off an assault on Western Port by big business, writes Jeff Nottle.

​Megabits empower the people
Jan 30, 2021 - Thanks to COVID, the inquiry into the AGL/APA proposal for Crib Point was truly democratic, writes Neil Daly, who watched much of it from the comfort of home. 

​Woodlands the star of the show
Dec 15, 2021 - The joy of walking in our local woodlands is captured in a new film by Terry Melvin and Laura Brearley

Community gathers for the woodlands
Dec 3, 2021 - Community celebrates the Western Port Woodlands with wine, art and song. Storybook by Laura Brearley, images by Nici Cahill.

Going, going, gone!
Nov 19, 2021 - Works by some of Gippsland’s finest artists will be auctioned in support of the campaign to save the Western Port woodlands. 

Enjoy the view!
Nov 19, 2021 - Coastal residents who clear public land to improve their sea view could be in for a shock.

Cosy homes made easy
Nov 19, 2021 - Heat pumps, power companies, rebates, insulation, emissions … two locals have done the homework so you don’t have to. Jessica Harrison reports. 

Back to the future
Nov 5, 2021 - Neil Daly asks whether the blue carbon method could redress much of the damage to Western Port caused by a century of drainage works and land clearing. 

Seven lunches from chaos
Oct 7, 2021 - At last the Murdoch media empire has recognised the seriousness of climate change. Ed Thexton found the evidence at the bottom of Page 25. 

​Sifting the plans in play
Oct 7, 2021 – It’s time for a new strategic framework for Western Port and its region, writes Neil Daly. 

Crunch time for woodlands
Sept 10, 2021 - Sand mining surge threatens Bass Coast’s rare woodlands and threatened species: Victorian National Parks Association report.

A watery makeover takes shape
August 27, 2021 - A seagrass research team goes to great depths in their quest to restore more seagrass meadows to Western Port.

Alternative energies
Long before wind and solar power, there was elbow grease, carbide and kerosene. Mark Robertson admires a new collection in the Wonthaggi Museum. 

Has the longest day begun?
July 29, 2021 - MPs take note, the people are ready to protect Western Port once more, writes Neil Daly.

Parks are for everyone
July 2, 2021 - People need to experience natural beauty before they will grow to love and protect it, writes Leticia Laing.

Winter recess – a time to gather our thoughts
July 2, 2021 - The latest assault on Western Port’s hinterland shows how much we need a complete land and sea management plan, writes Neil Daly.

Living with creeks
July 2, 2021 - Rivers and waterways are serious, writes Ed Thexton, but creeks are a different matter. 

Saving the planet, a paddock at a time
June 4, 2021 - For 20 years Phillip Island carbon farmer Bob Davie has been a voice in the wilderness. Suddenly everyone is listening, writes Catherine Watson. 

Power deal cuts costs and emissions
May 21, 2021 - Bass Coast Council will be powered by 100 per cent renewable power from July 1 in a landmark deal that also cuts the shire’s energy bill. 

Time to walk with nature
May 7, 2021 - We have to start undoing the damage we have done to the environment, writes Neil Daly. 

For the next milestone …  
April 22, 2021 - The AGL decision is a breakthrough on the journey towards a Western Port Strategic Management Plan, writes Neil Daly.   

​Ecological losses “a balancing act”: QC
April 9, 2021 - A Grantville sand mining company does not have to meet the same environmental standards as other land users, the company’s lawyer argues. 

Tiger, tiger, turning tight
Feb 13, 2021 - A sensor camera in a  garden shed catches a tiger snake doing battle with a mouse trap. Video by Gil Smith