On Saturday 10 May local anti-desalination group Your Water Your Say commenced a community assembly to demonstrate their determination to stop works at the Wonthaggi desalination pilot plant. Various pieces of equipment have moved onto the site already and it is expected that Korumburra contractor ANCON will try to move horizontal drilling equipment onto the desalination site within days. YWYS Spokesperson, Nia Emmanouil says “local community members have been forced to voice their opposition to the Government’s flawed water policy through peaceful community protest. The desalination project will contribute up to 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere every year; that is incongruous with efforts to reverse the reality that is climate change. There ARE environmentally sustainable and cheaper alternatives. YWYS will keep a 24-hour vigil at the site and continue to demand that the Government be accountable for the decisions it makes.

Olivier de Schutter, special adviser on food to the UN, has called for an immediate halt in investment in biofuels. Biofuels - such as bio-diesel and bio-ethanol - are currently made from food crops, and their development is contributing to inflated food prices and consequently global food shortages. Development in “first-generation” biofuels is using food crops as its principle feedstock for fuel production, whereas “second-generation” fuel technology seeks alternative feedstocks that will impact less on human and animal food supplies.

An alliance of conservation groups called Victoria Naturally, as well as many local groups such as Friends of Bass Bush are urging everyone to read and comment on the Victorian Government's Land and Biodiversity Green Paper. This document will be used to make recommendations on future government actions to improve land management in the state and will therefore impact greatly on the future of our environment. Submissions on the document can be lodged until June 30. The Green Paper acknowledges that "despite the efforts of Victoria's pioneering Landcare movement . . . the health of our natural environment continues to decline". CSIRO figures show that nearly a third of Victoria's native animals and close to half the native plant species are threatened with extinction. Of the 90 Australian animal species already identified as at risk from climate change more than a third are in Victoria. For more information and to make a submission see
Victoria Naturally

Pressure is mounting on the federal government by major environment community advocacy groups to cut subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. These subsidies have been estimated to amount to $4 billion a year, and are, say GetUp’s executive director Greg Soloman, “wasteful and inappropriate in the context of the climate crisis we are facing”. The forthcoming budget on May 13th is being seen as a test for the Rudd government on their commitment to climate change issues. Join the protest. There are lots of different ways. Try them all! To get started, visit GetUp! and sign the petition. Green Peace will be delivering a 20,000 signature petition to Treasurer Wayne Swan next week and suggest making a quick and polite phone call to the Treasury, to further communicate your concern. We know that politicians take phone calls incredibly seriously - and even leaving a 20 second answering machine message after hours will be recorded and considered: (02) 6263 2111. All the better, the phone call is free!

On Wednesday 7 May Ziggy the anti-nuclear white elephant joined activists from FoE, the Greens and others in a lunchtime picket of the office of Federal ALP Member for Batman Martin Ferguson in protest at his pro-nuclear stance.