Thursday, 6 February 2025

Western Victoria Region

Sarah MANSFIELD (Western Victoria) (12:55): (1352) The community of Geelong is approaching the end of a lengthy consultation process regarding the environmental implications of Viva Energy’s proposal for a floating gas terminal in Corio Bay. As the minister’s decision looms, they are left with many unanswered questions, especially when it comes to Viva’s unrealistic estimates of the impact of dredging on the bay’s marine ecosystem. Minister, Gladstone harbour in Queensland faced extensive delays, cost blowouts and unforeseen environmental impacts when it came to developing the harbour for LNG tankers. In fact, fishing in the harbour was temporarily shut down because of the significant impact on the marine ecosystem. So my question for the Minister for Planning is: will the minister require a secondary environment effects statement for the Viva gas import terminal should additional dredging of Corio Bay be required for the passage of LNG tankers?