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Wednesday 22 July 2015
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Light and shade
ARTIST Bernadette Jordan’s photographs of flowers are illuminated under torchlight in an exhibition called Out of the Shadows at G3 Artspace at Parkdale’s Shirley Burke Theatre. Jordan’s exhibition investigates shape, form and colour, and highlights her belief that “a perfect jewel can be revealed by shining light into the darkness”. See Page 4. Picture: Gary Sissons
Calls for port talks Keith Platt keith@baysidenews.com.au SOUTH east councils are lobbying the state government to not ditch plans for a container port at Hastings but Kingston Council has not yet taken an official stance on any Port of Hastings expansion. Frankston and Mornington Peninsula Shire councils have called for urgent meetings with the Labor government over its decision to lease the Port of Melbourne for at least 50 years, effectively ending plans for another competi-
tive port. Instead, the government wants Hastings to be used as a “bulk” port, adding processed brown coal to the existing trade in petroleum products and natural gas. Kingston mayor Cr Geoff Gledhill said councillors will discuss council’s official policy at a council meeting later this month. He said there had been “general discussions” and councillors do not support any further dredging in Port Phillip Bay despite the economic benefits and jobs the commercial hub of an expanded port at Hastings would provide.
“At council we’re really concerned to preserve and enhance our foreshore environment,” he said. Cr Gledhill noted Infrastructure Victoria is the body who will determine what happens but he believes south east councils should also have a say in the decision since there would be economic benefits to the region and transport logistics would have to be considered if a container port proceeds at Hastings. It has been estimated that a container port at Hastings would require 24 million cubic metres of dredging to provide access to the estimated 4.5 kilometres of concrete wharves.
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If a second Melbourne container port is built, Labor favours a port at Bay West in Geelong. Since coming to power, the Labor government has scaled down the activities of Port of Hastings Development Authority, cutting staff from close to 100 to about 12. The government has instructed those left at the authority to concentrate on increasing opportunities to use Hastings as a “bulk” port. This year Western Port is expected to be used by 50 ships involved in the export and import of bulk petroleum and liquefied natural gas.
While previously reluctant in the absence of a definite plan to comment on the environmental effects of a major port at Hastings, Flinders MP and federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt last month joined fellow Liberal state Opposition Leader Matthew Guy in highlighting the damaging effects of blasting Port Phillip Heads to accommodate larger ships. However, the state government has not suggested blasting to deepen existing shipping channels, and transport experts have repeatedly stated that the world’s largest ships will never be sent to Port Phillip. Continued Page 6