PARK WATCH Article June 2026 |

Shannon Hurley, Nature Conservation Campaigner, looks at the state of play in Western Port Bay post-Budget and pre-election

In this year’s Victorian Budget, the Allan Government committed $124.5 million towards progressing the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal (VRET) at the Port of Hastings. It’s a major piece of infrastructure designed to support offshore wind development. Despite this significant investment, there’s still no funding for a long-term plan to safeguard Western Port Bay.

In Bunurong Country, Western Port Bay is a Ramsar-listed wetland and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It’s home to migratory shorebirds, dolphins, penguins, seagrass meadows and rich intertidal habitats. It’s also facing growing pressure from industrial expansion, urban growth and large-scale infrastructure proposals.

VRET risks becoming another example of Western Port Bay being gradually chipped away, one project at a time, without equivalent investment in protecting and restoring it. The scale of work is significant. The dredging planned for the terminal is expected to be the largest in Western Port Bay since the port was first developed. It raises serious concerns about impacts on marine habitats, sediment movement and the long-term health of the bay. Shipping activity is projected to more than double, from around 150 to 350 visits annually.

For five years, local and statewide groups have been calling for relatively modest investment ($2–3 million) to kickstart marine spatial planning and establish a Western Port Fund through the proposed Western Port Strategic Framework. Marine spatial planning would bring together community, industry and government to better coordinate uses of the Bay, protect wildlife and habitats, and support a genuinely sustainable blue economy. A Western Port Fund would support restoration, clean-up and community-led projects, modelled on the successful Port Phillip Bay Fund.

We absolutely need renewable energy. And we need to make sure building it doesn’t impact the health of the habitats and wildlife it’s designed to protect.

More than $124 million has been committed to progressing the terminal. Only a fraction of that would be needed to create proper marine planning and a dedicated protection fund.

VNPA, along with other statewide and local groups, will continue calling on the Victorian Government to fund marine spatial planning and a Western Port Fund ahead of the next state election. With hearings for the VRET set to take place early next year, we’ll be feeding into that process to make sure these issues are properly considered.