IN MARCH 2021, when sinking the AGL gas import terminal proposal at Crib Point, the Andrews government said in defence of Western Port’s fragile tenure, “This project would cause unacceptable impacts on the Western Port environment and the Ramsar wetlands — it’s important that these areas are protected.”
Fast forward to September 2023 and once more Western Port’s environmental future is under threat thanks to the Andrews government announcement that the Port of Hastings has been selected as the most suitable port to assemble offshore wind infrastructure. “With the benefits of large areas of zoned land it is close to existing port precincts, has deep water channels and is close to the offshore wind projects off the coast of Gippsland.”