A decision on Bastion Point will now not be made until after the Christmas /New year season.

An elephant seal visits Bastion Point in December 2011 - Photo Richard Du Heaume

In June this year, Hyder Consultants were engaged by the inter-departmental Bastion Point Project Control Board (the Board) to undertake a detailed assessment of the alternative option at the current site, in order to  produce a report using specific criteria that compares the alternative with Option 3b.

Work commissioned by the consultants has just been completed, and the Board expects to present this material to the East Gippsland Shire Council (EGSC) early in the new year. We understand that EGSC wish to engage with the community prior to its views being finalised. Once the EGSC has provided its input, the Board will be in a position to finalise a recommendation for the Government.

Friends of Mallacoota (FoM), represented by the Environment Defenders Office (EDO) and barrister Sam Ure, have been successful in a Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) case involving Freedom of Information (FOI).
In October 2010, FoM, a key body in the Save Bastion Point Campaign, went to VCAT to obtain documents relating to Bastion Point from [...]

On 6 September SBPC representatives met with senior Government staff to view the preliminary plans completed by Hyder Consultants for a boat ramp at the existing site, and to provide feedback. There had been a genuine effort to keep the design to the minimum required for an acceptable launching facility, and within the existing footprint. There [...]

Friends of Mallacoota featured prominently in the recent Keep Australia Beautiful Victoria (KABV) Awards night, held at the Melbourne Cricket Club on 29th July, by achieving finalist status in five of nine categories.
The Keep Australia Beautiful Awards celebrate and recognise the wonderful effort communities put into sustaining their local environments and making them better places [...]

The Bairnsdale Advertiser of 11 July 2011 has reported on another East Gippsland Shire Council debate (5 July 2011) on Bastion Point. This debate was sparked by concerns with the EGSC-commissioned Buchan Consultant’s economic report: Councillor Mendy Urie raised the issue as a matter of good governance; Cr Bill Gamble described the Buchan report as [...]

The Government has confirmed its intention to undertake an assessment of an alternative option at the existing site. The intention is to produce a report to enable proper comparison with option 3b.  Hyder Consultants have been engaged to do this work, which will include detailed drawings, cost estimates and a safety audit. Criteria in the [...]

Documents obtained by Freedom of Information (FOI) demonstrate that the Brumby government rolled two separate Panels who recommended against the Bastion Point breakwater and beach road development – first Minister for Planning Justin Madden overrode departmental advice to accept the findings of an Independent Planning Panel Inquiry , and then Transport Minister Pallas overrode a [...]

At a meeting held with SBPC last week, senior DSE staff confirmed that the Government is investigating the alternative concept that had been suggested by the Panel and community, before formally considering the Council’s planned breakwater and beach road development. The Government will engage consultants to draw up a design, using the alternative concept put [...]

Volunteers from Mallacoota have been counting boats over the last 6 months – not because they can’t sleep, but to collect data to better inform decisions on economic and safety issues at Bastion Point. The report indicates that wind speed is a major determinant of boat launching at Bastion Point – and a breakwater won’t [...]

The Save Bastion Point Campaign today called on the new Victorian Government to act swiftly on its election commitment to review the East Gippsland Shire Council’s proposed overdevelopment of Bastion Point, Mallacoota. Four of the five Gippsland East candidates either opposed or wished to see the proposal reviewed while Craig Ingram, the only candidate supporting [...]