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August 19, 2022
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SIG N U P N O W!
A day to remember
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Thursday, August 18 was Vietnam Veterans’ Day on the anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan in 1966. We remembered the sacrifices of those who died and say thank you to almost 60,000 Australians who served during the 10 years of our involvement in the Vietnam War. We honoured those veterans who lost their lives during battle, returned home wounded, ill or injured, lost their lives in the years since they returned and still carry the physical and emotional scars of their service. We also paused to reflect on the impact of service on veterans’ families. Ocean Grove’s Peter Foote served in the war, which was Australia’s longest military engagement of the 20th century. ■ Peter
tells his story on page 10.
Viva plan faces backlash By Matt Hewson Viva Energy’s announcement of commercial agreements for the construction of pier and berthing infrastructure for its proposed gas terminal in the Port of Geelong has met with condemnation from numerous community groups. One of those groups, A Different Approach Community (ADAC), wants to help citizens who oppose the project make their voices heard. “We’re a fairly conservative group; we’re not marching up the streets, we don’t chain ourselves to machinery, we write letters,” said ADAC convenor Robert Patterson. “We’ve sent about 4085 letters to federal politicians over a two-year period, all asking, please, let’s do something about climate. “The United Nations tells us we should have
ADAC convenor Robert Patterson calls on citizens to add their voice to the fight against fossil fuels. (Ivan Kemp) 294087_12
no new fossil fuels, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is saying it’s now or never. So we see it as our responsibility to say something about the terminal. “We need to get politicians to take notice, and letters work. If people sign up to our email newsletter we can send them prewritten letters
they can put their name to and send off to their local member.” Mr Patterson said ADAC had major concerns about a number of issues around the proposed terminal. “There are two main issues, the first of which is beautiful Corio Bay, the sea grasses, bird and marine populations, and the safety of the community at North Shore. There’s no reason why it needs to be put here in the bay, it could be further out,” he said. “But we would argue we don’t need it at all, because we’ve been told by the Victorian government they’ve got a renewable energy target to reduce emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, and yet they’re going to consider approving a new fossil fuel industry that’s going to increase emissions.” A spokesperson for Viva Energy said ADAC’s concerns about local ecosystems had already
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been addressed through a “comprehensive Environment Effect Statement”, which drew on 17 independent studies on the potential impact of the gas terminal. “These studies showed the terminal would not have an adverse impact on the marine environment or wetlands,” the spokesperson said. “Regarding the community, LNG has been safely shipped around the world for 60 years and there has never been a major incident involving a carrier in this time. “Viva Energy recognises the world is moving to a low-carbon future. We are committed to being a part of the energy transition. “However, this major transition cannot happen overnight, and gas has an important role to play as a backstop for the power system. The Victorian government’s Gas Substitution Roadmap states there will be a role for gas until at least 2040.”