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Help!Volunteers are needed to assist with running events and with other aspects of the campaign. Contact Gillian on 0414-309-960 if you would like to help out with the picket at Westerfield, and Craig if you want to help with the website. Voice your opposition by sending emails:Some key points to make in your email are listed here
Key documentsThe Heritage Victoria permit appeal determination for the Westerfield heritage bushland Interview with Dr Roger Jones by Jim Kerin in which he describes the Frankston-Langwarrin habitat corridor and the bypass impacts Expert witness statement by Nick McCaffrey and Malcolm Legg about the Westerfield bushland (1.1Mb) PeninsulaLink Environmental Effects Statement (EES) Department of Sustainability & Environment (0.8Mb) Addendum to the effects statement including further information about the irreplaceability if the Westerfield bush (94Kb)
EES Fauna & fauna maps
EES Fauna & fauna of significance occurance maps
Frankston bypass and Penisula Link freeway campaign news and discussion
You help is urgently needed. Please follow the links in the orange box at the right of this page to express your concerns about what is going on For information about the campaign
Contribute to this website This website is open to contributions from everyone concerned with what is going on. If you have news that you would like to post, would like to contribute to any of the other pages, believe that anything presented on this website is inaccurate or could be improved, or can get us a copy of the environmental management plan, then contact Craig at mail@craigallen.net.au. Information about the Westerfield heritage woodlands
Another bleak day for weather today, but our new mural saw its first duty and presented a happy face to the passing motorists. The Parliament has passed the Act that made the Port of Hastings now a part of the Port of Melbourne - the next step in moving the functions of the Port of Melbourne to Hastings. The complete transfer may take up to 30 years, but it will, unquestionably, be facilitated by the Peninsula Link freeway - in fact, it's the only reason that makes any sense...
Thanks to The Age and Ian Hundley, who forwarded it to me, we now have a true picture of the funding model for Peninsula Link and its disasterous consequences for every taxpayer in Victoria. 
Attached are two photos of some of our new signs. The large mural has now been varnished to protect the paint, and should be around by Wednesday. Another large object for us to carry around! We're all getting fit from the fresh air and physocal work at the beginning and end of the day. We are most grateful to Ronnie who is faithful in his self-proclaimed duties of camp set-up, for Peter who is always with us, and for Simon, who always has a fire going. We were happy today was... Today on the picket we spoke to a lovely couple about the freeway. They own a transport company, and the young man is a long-haul driver. It was enlightening, not the least because the young man would rather be driving a train! We made some headway with them about why we want to save our natural environment, and that we think we can have progress without destroying our Australian bush heritage. We parted as friends. Along the way we learned that truckers don't like driving... 
Wood Duck familyToday our delighted volunteers watched as a family of wood ducks took their new hatchlings from their nesting area, across the freeway right of way, and to the dam further down Robinson's Road. I got one good photo of them. These wood ducks nest in trees, and they have been a delight to watch over the last month as they hurried about their business above our heads. What will happen to them next year? When we saw the tender care they took of their young, with Mum in front and... Tomorrow, vote for the party that has the best policy on the environment and climate change. That's the only way we are going to stop this freeway madness and get back to public transport and an economy we can sustain.
May the environment inform us all - as one of our banners says - no ecology, no economy. As I write this, the furious discussion about the results of the National election continues, and we as a nation are clearly divided in our hopes and aspirations for the future. As we walked around the filling dam at Westerfield's yesterday and saw what hadn't been seen for 14 years on this property - the creation of a beautiful and life-filled habitat - the issues clarified themselves. Do we want vibrant life or dead freeways? Do we want to be true conservatives and save the... Our great picket minders have been forbearing this wet, cold, windy August. With the election looming, many of our troops are busy elsewhere, so we are grateful for our core group, who keep us going. When the sun shines, it's a little bit of heaven out there. One of our volunteers loves to collect numbers, and on a slow day recently, he decided to count how many angry drivers we had versus how many cheery honks and waves. It was a staggering 3 against, 73 for! Our message is... Oh, it was wet today! A couple of years ago when I had two buckets in my shower, I swore I would never again complain about rain, so I won't. The day we started the picket, we had no idea we would still be there and about to begin our seventh week. We continue to hope for a better outcome than the destruction that had been planned for Westerfield's, and we believe that the Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve work will be more environmentally responsible because of the awareness our... The Defenders' of the South-west Green Wedge AGM will be held on Tuesday, 31 August 2010 at the Aspendale - Edithvale RSL, starting with a meal at 6.00pm, followed by the meeting at 7.30pm. If you can't make it to the meal, don't worry just make sure you are there for the AGM. The Aspendale - Edithvale RSL is at 111 Kinross Avenue, Edithvale and our meeting will be held in the 'Bingo Room'. We have been assured there will be no Bingo on the night. We could do with some new... I'm attaching images I took this morning of about 25 Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos that were in the Hakia bush on the side of Robinson's Road. I could hear them cracking the seeds as I approached to take some photos. Where will they eat, and how will they survive, when these trees and bushes are gone? What will happen to all the nesting birds that are flitting around like crazy? Later on in the day, Joyce showed me three Tongue Orchid leaves that have appeared. There are no... This is a great idea that DeeAnn has nurtured for months. I am saying "yes" for SOBA - we can do a great stall with information from our various campaigns and photos of what we have been doing. If the Possum Picket is still working, we will need assistance. Please consider helping. Cheers, Gillian ------ Hi all After meeting with Karen Alexander from Victorian Naturally I set off to organize an event for International Year of Biodiversity. The idea was there but the funds... 
We have had lots of folk share information with us at the picket, and again through the Internet. The mailing about the Biodiversity lecture is one of those that Damon sent through. Westerfield's has given us a chance to see the beauty of the small things in the Australian landscape, and that's what our biodiversity depends on. Yesterday, Jo brought us a small, and we suspect rare, book of historical information about the Peninsula: The Peninsula Story - Sorrento and... Date: Wednesday 18 August, 2010 Time: 1pm Venue: Monash University Lecture Theatre S9, Building 25, Clayton campus Overview Most of us are happy to care about pandas, or dolphins or other charismatic animals. Many of us are also concerned about the decline of iconic species such as the River Red Gum, but what about less glamorous animals and plants that make up our biodiversity? As global resources become more and more limited we will have to make some hard decisions... 
What a day we had yesterday! About 70 people came to our camp fire event and shared poetry and song. We had representatives from all over Melbourne, and many more sent best wishes via e-mail who couldn't be there. Sophie was a blast as she rapped her bush ballad from memory, Michael charmed us with his beautiful voice, and Suzanne overcame her fear to read us her lovely original poem. Rose shared her thoughts about Black Cockatoos right after Sam's Mum read Judith Wright's... Today Joyce, Simon, and Kate Welsh and I had a 45 minute meeting with Roads Minister Tim Pallas at his office on Exhibition Street. Also present at the meeting were Erin Coldham and Les Bull from Linking Melbourne Authority (LMA) and Mr. Pallas' aide. We cannot express deeply enough our gratitute to Mick C. for the drop-dead gorgeous book of his photos of Westerfield's that he produced as a gift for Minister Pallas. Craig T. also gave us a beautiful Manna Gum tree to give... You are invited to an exciting community-building event at Westerfield's, planned by some of the young people who have so impressed us with their passion to protect our environmental heritage. Please circulate this invitation to your networks. The weather forecast is good, and we're on rain or shine! Saturday August 7th from 12.00pm. More interesting people visited today, the beginning of our fourth week on the picket, but the birds were the special thing we'll all remember. They are obviously courting, and their constant chatter is a lovely foil for the roar of cars and trucks going by. Joyce has made friends with a family of Kookaburras that like to visit at meal times, and the parrots and wrens are busy checking out possible nesting sites. The Wood Ducks are finding nesting hollows in the trees, and the... Dear readers,
The Protectors of Public Lands have been key supporters of our picket. If you or anyone you know can support their VCAT hearing on the Honeywell site, please do so. As you might know the Yarra River Action Alliance (YRAA) and Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc (PPL VIC) are appealing in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) the decision of Yarra Council to issue a permit to construct an oversize,... 
Protesters outside Labor MP Alistair Harkness's office. Picture: Ian Cook
Read the original story at the Frankston Standard Leader newspaper website here. WESTERFIELD will be bulldozed to make way for Peninsula Link. The Victorian Heritage Council handed down its decision last week to the devastation of protesters, who had spent six weeks fighting for the preservation of the historic property. Protesters marched through Frankston on Friday to rally against the decision. We have been having lots of visitors from the Frankston area. Last Friday it was a Vietnam Vet. and another local, today two men from the up the road. The Vietnam Vet. wanted to know why we are doing what we are doing, and he stayed for a really good conversation. He didn't agree with everything we said, but he was very supportive of our right to say it. Today two men came by who are vehemently against the freeway. One is an environmental warrior from years ago, and the other... 
Southern Brown BandicootThe SPIFFA (Southern Peninsula Indigenous Flora & Fauna Association) guest speaker on Monday night is Dr Terry Coates, an ecologist who is studying the population of the Southern Brown Bandicoot at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Cranbourne. All are welcome. The meeting is at the Rosebud Parks Victoria Office at 7:30pm on Monday evening in Hinton Street. Terry has been computer modelling the remaining populations in the outer urban/rural interface (the areas identified by the...
The last legislative hopes for Westerfields, one of the few remaining areas of original, intact ecosystems in the Frankston area have been dashed by a toothless "Heritage" Council appeal decision. Please support the fine work the picketeurs are doing. This kind of direct action is the only thing that will force a re-assessment of the freeway building methods and the insensitive alignments and 100 metre swathe that is being cut for 30 metres of roadway Bandicoot videoA video that Ben Cullen from Trust For Nature filmed at a property in the eastern development corridor showing pernicious threats to the little bandicoots. We can eliminate feral cats and foxes from the landscape. Greedy, ignorant and corrupt men aren't so easily dealt with. The ballot box is our only recourse. Today we learn that the Green Wedges system of land conservation areas set aside for biodiversity (a far-sighted 1970's Liberal Party initiative) is to be sacrificed to the corrupt regime of urban sprawl, patronage and shameless land banking that this current government promotes. This government is by far the most environmentally destructive in the state's recent history and all of it is for political or personal gain for they and their cronies and networks. The only power... Dear Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. members and friends, See the follow up to the VC68 Planning Amendment passed by Parliament yesterday - the article in the Age today 30 July 2010 by Jason Dowling "City to 'grow' 134,000 homes on farmland" See this link
See also letters including mine "Brumby giveth and Brumby taketh away" in letters to the editor in the Age today 30 July 2010. Dear All,
The revised Green Wedge land grab Planning Scheme Amendment VC68 did not pass through Parliament as feared on Tuesday or yesterday (Wednesday). Notice was given on Tuesday and it is now on the web, though I have not been able to access it. It is on the agenda for today. Please download the PDF of this press release from the link below and distribute to your contacts. Supporters of the “community picket” at the Westerfield property on Robinson’s Road, Frankston, will stage a demonstration in front of the office of Alistair Harkness, MP at 140 Young Street , Frankston this Friday. The protestors will gather in Shannon Mall and walk to the office of Mr. Harkness to deliver him an indigenous tree in honour of National Tree Day on Sunday, along... Ms Sue Pennecuik MP will move a motion "That Linking Melbourne Authority cease all work on Peninsula Link project immediately until a final design of the... VC 68 Revised Planning Amendment on Parliamentary Notice Paper for Wednesday 28 July 2010 re Extension of Urban Growth BoundaryI obtained from the Department of Planning and... Craig was one of the first people to alert us to the environmental devastation that the Peninsula Link project is causing. Here is his report on a re-visit to the Pobblebonk...
Dear friends, Heritage Victoria has made their determination. The document is linked below. It would appear to be very disappointing, with only the question of the location of the road visa vis... At the meeting today, our stalwart group of supporters decided to go on with the picket at Westerfield's. We are bitterly disappointed with the Heritage Council's decision, and... This morning started with about 25 Yellow-tailed Cockatoos flying over and finished with the aroma of Daphne from Joyce's garden. Great start and finish, but the middle wasn't too... This interview was broadcast on The Greenroom radio program, Radio Port Phillip, 98.7 or 98.3fm, 4 to 6pm Thursday. Jim Kerin: Minister Jennings it's great to see you on this... Gavin Jennings interviewed about Westerfield - 26/7/2010 Minister Jennings, where are those offsets you promised for Eastlink? One of the Westerfield picketers has been photographing the bush. Here are some of his pics. The Burdett site in Langwarrin is supposed to be one of the Eastlink Offset sites. The Offset Agreement is yet to be implemented.In September 2006 this 50 hectare bushland site in... Westerfield's owners Joyce and Simon Welsh were thrilled to welcome Environment Minister Gavin Jennigs to their Frankston property this morning to further argue their case for their... They can't steal our hearts!Although our beautiful heart banners that Sophie made and that embraced our trees were stolen last night, along with some other destruction, we were... We continue to ask visitors to the site to look first toward the destruction that has begun to the north of Robinsons Road, then to turn and look into the Westerfield bush and ask... Victorian Minister for the Environment, Gavin Jennings, MP, is visiting on Sunday, and we hope he will follow Lord Rowallen's advice as he walks through the property. The talent... We had four seasons on the picket today. Cold, wet, and breezy this morning, warm and lovely this afternoon and everything in between. The children that came again make it all worth... This invitation is for a workshop to determine the future direction of the Frankston Environmental Friends Network, which is an initiative of the Frankston City Council. It is... The experience of standing in a circle with two other pensioners while we tried to add a phone number to all our phones, then ended up calling each other as we tested it, standing a... A really cold start to the day was warmed by the presence of four beautiful children brought by David W. and Ted H. With Kate's lovely hairy Dachshunds, they brightened up the day no... A clear factor in the visitors we had at the picket today was confusion. Who told what to whom and when is clearly an issue, with one woman whose house backs on to the right-of-way... Over 150 individuals have now been a part of the "Possum Picket," with almost that number sending their apologies and best wished by phone or through the Internet. More than a dozen... Since clearing for Peninsula Link started between Skye and Robinsons Roads, Michelle Thomas (Animalia) and Alison Kuiter have been meeting with Abigroup and the Linking Melbourne... Our picket day started with Michelle C. delivering the attached brochure to the Bayside Christian School. Michelle did a brilliant job of capturing the essential environmental values... The PeninsulaLink freeway art scam - bulldoze paradise, erect huge structures to distract the publicDear Mornington Peninsula Transport reformer As you are probably aware the bulldozers are rumbling around the Westerfield property in Robinsons Road. This is one element of the... My day started with the three tenors singing "Neesun Dorme" in the car. What an inspiration! We have heard some very good news, but it is as yet unconfirmed. The Leader newspaper... Read the original article at the Frankston Standard Leader website Peninsula Link bulldozers will soon move on the environmentally sensitive Westerfield property. The road’s... Thank you so much to all the good people who came today in spite of the weather. We really generate a warm community spirit at the picket, and the cold doesn't matter so much when... Green Room Editorial to be broadcast @ 4.30pm 15/7/10 By way of the Major Transport Projects Facilitation bill, the Linking Melbourne Authority (LMA) has arbitrarily exempted... Day nine of our environmental picket looked as though it was going to be rainy, but it was great - quite warm and no rain. We continue to get many, many, car horn blasts of... We may have seen the last of the sun for the week, but it was a lovely day on the picket line. So many new people joining us. Mel came early and helped set up, then came back... Article in The Age - Green-wedge plan would be a mortal blow to liveabilityKenneth Davidson's exposé in the Age of 12 July 2010 of the Brumby Government's VC 67 Planning Amendment due to be raised again in the Upper House of Parliament at the next sitting... Today we completed 7 days of our community picket at the Westerfield's property. Tomorrow is a "Rostered Day Off" for the CFMEU, but Abigroup may hire subcontractors who are not... We almost blew away! It was cold and we had to take our shade structures down before we blew away, but the atmosphere could not have been warmer today on the picket line. A... A celebration for the volunteersAll volunteers are invited to tea at Westerfield house today, Saturday the 10th of July, at 4:30 pm to celebrate a successful week saving our environmental heritage. A much quieter day on the picket line today, with fewer people but still a good turnover. The VNPA call brought us some new people. We had an ASian T.V. distributor film... Another amazing day, and the weather was better. We now have a shade structure on Robinson's Road and a tent on the other picket line, plus a fire at each. There are indications... Read the original article at the Melbourne Age website. THE company building the Frankston bypass for the state government has admitted it accidentally cleared a small area of... Another amazing day today, and still no bulldozers. It would seem that Abigroup is now held up until a satisfactory resolution can be found to the outstanding issues about... Another big day. The situation is still incredibly fluid, and we had been alerted that tomorrow may be the day they try to bring the bulldozers in. We have extablished a "Community... We've been given two alternative explanations for the insane amount of bushland that was bulldozed in the section of the freeway alignment that passes through the Willow Road... Urgent request for people to join community picket around the Westerfield endangered grassy woodlandWednesday is the day. [UPDATE: no they didn't - that the power of a picket for you!] They have bulldozed the next property today - with no wildlife relocators in attendance... The community picket line ws successful, and the bulldozers did not come on the site. They were parked across the street all day, and a lot of their folk stood around idle. Thank... [This particular day is over, but come to the community picket instead] Looks like we have to drag out the spades and boxes again. Abigroup representative Chantelle who will be... Last week, Susan Jarmo, on the Linking Melbourne Authority Community Advisory Group told the Frankston North Community Renewal committee in her first ever report that we had... A CHORUS of disapproval has met the destruction of Frankston bushland and its flora and fauna to make way for the controversial $760 million Peninsula Link freeway ... Read the... Newspaper article - Bushland fury: Road works leave trail of destructionA CHORUS of disapproval has rung out over the destruction of Frankston bushland and its flora and fauna to make way for the controversial $760million Peninsula Link freeway ... ...BULLDOZERS have begun clearing swathes of land to make way for Peninsula Link. Trees have been felled and wildflowers ripped out in areas around McClelland Drive ... Read the... These photos are of an area of about 15 trees, marked H as designated habitat trees, that were knocked over and piled up. They were large Eucalypts that would have been over 50 years... Prior to the commencement of works, habitat trees were identified by the freeway builders. They then bulldozed the trees. Follow the link below to see a photo gallery. In order to tame the flurry of emails that have been flying around on this issue, we are currently creating a mailing list system for the site. Invitations to participate will be... Sign at the Willow Road entrance to the Pobblebonk WetlandsThe dozer drivers must chuckle to themselves every morning. This place was once a joy to behold. Follow the read more link to view a gallery of photos. Abigroup’s environmental management plan - has anyone seen it or have a copy?It has been suggested that there is in fact an environmental management plan for the recent destruction. If anyone has a copy please sent it to contact@savethepines.net Save Our Bush Rally next Wednesday - Victorian Transport Conference - SouthbankWednesday 2nd June @ 9am Voice your opposition outside the Victorian Transport Conference 2010 Crown Conference Centre, Southbank Promenade
STOP the wanton destruction Council decisionMoved: cr. Cunial seconded: cr. Aitken That the matter of peninsula link works be accepted as urgent business. Carried unanimously Council decisionMoved:... The following concerns were sent to the Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment Flora and Fauna people. I am concerned with the lack of protection for the wildlife... Orchid beds destroyed before plant recovery teams could get to themInformation provided by Alison Kuiter The Willow Road Reserve orchid site, which had a quite large population... Michelle and Craig Thomas report that the heartbreaking destruction is causing huge losses of sugar gliders and other mammals. A huge proportion of Pobblebonk Wetland and the surrounding bush of Willow Rd Reserve have been trashed. Even the trees that they have marked for habitat have been bulldozed. The... Abigroup appear not to be abiding by environmental mitigation measures stipulated in the Environmental Effects Statement, as explained below. Motion raised at Frankston council condemning the desctuction and lack of EMPFrankston City Councillor Kris Bolam has raised a motion in Council tonight condeming Linking Melbourne and Southern Way for their destruction of so much flora and fauna without an... The Department of Sustainability and Environment has explained some aspects of the (critically flawed) environmental planning. Frankston residents are expressing deep concern and horror at the wholesale destruction of the native wildlife behind Peninsula Hospital by the Abbey Construction Group for the new...
Letter from concerned resident Craig Thompson The Executive Director of Heritage Victoria, Mr. Jim Gard'ner has announced that he is powereless to stop the destruction of the Westerfield heritage bushland in spite of his... SAVE OUR BUSHRALLY on the PARLIAMENT HOUSE STEPS FEB 24 12PM Stop the destruction of nature and the Construction of freeways through our Bushland and set the government on the path To alternative... Documentary about the Westerfield heritage propertyA documentary about the values of the Westerfield property, and other bushland areas along the Frankston-Langwaren habitat/ecosystem corridor that will be bulldozed if the Frankston... Thanks everyone who sent in submissions - we'll let you know what's next Dear Supporters, We sadly report that 2.6 hectares of the Westerfield Heritage endangered Grassy Woodland... |
Abigroup are in the process of bulldozing the wildlife corridor south of the Pines Flora and Fauna Reserve, and seem to be going out of their way to