PARK WATCH Article December 2025 |

Ben Gill, Nature Conservation Campaigner, says the Fosterville mine expansion is a dud deal for nature

The state and federal governments’ approval of the Fosterville Gold Mine expansion marks a backward step for nature protection in Victoria. It’s bad news for habitats, water and local communities.

At hearings in Bendigo and Melbourne, groups including the Bendigo and District Environment Council, Bendigo Climate Alliance and Save the Campaspe presented detailed evidence to the Environment Effects Statement (EES). Save the Campaspe, in particular, led an extensive effort to expose the flaws in the assessment process. These local advocates deserve recognition for holding one of Victoria’s most powerful mining operations to account.

The conditions attached to the approval attempt to soften the blow: new surface-water monitoring, and air and vibration controls. But over 10 ha of Grey Box Grassy Woodland, a nationally significant and threatened habitat, will be cleared. However, the company must secure and manage more than 231 ha of offsets – a promise that rarely translates into true ecological recovery.

The community’s fears of contamination of the Campaspe River, and ultimately the Murray at Echuca, were confirmed by Dr McCumber, hydrogeologist and expert witness for Save the Campaspe. The governments’ attempts to shrug off both immediate and cumulative impacts as being ‘acceptably managed’ are simply not good enough.

The bedrock of this region – its wildlife, habitats, waterways, and communities – cannot be traded for a few economic talking points. Bendigo’s nature groups have done the hard work; now it’s time for the government to do theirs, by enforcing every condition with genuine rigour and transparency.