September 8th was Tanya Day’s birthday. She would have been 58. She died in police custody on the 22nd of December, 2017. This year on September 8th her family requested people wear pink, Day’s favorite color, to honour her memory and highlight the Justice for Tanya Day campaign. This edition of the WS Bulletin is dedicated to her, her family, and all of the black lives that have been taken at the hands of the police.

#BLM #JusticeforTanyaDay
#RememberTheirNames

There are two distinct koala populations in Victoria and South Australia. One is the endemic Strzelecki koala of South Gippsland Victoria and the other being koalas translocated from Victorian island populations throughout Victoria and South Australia.

This is a significant yet little understood phenomenon.

The Strzelecki koalas consist of the original diverse gene pool, whereas the translocated populations have gone through a "genetic bottleneck" resulting in much lower genetic diversity.

The Strzelecki koalas therefore, are crucial to animal's future in Victoria and South Australia. However their numbers are low, possibly as low as 1500 animals.

A NSW Upper House inquiry is underway into the impacts of dams in the Murray Darling fast tracked by NSW Government.

The Murray-Darling supports RAMSAR wetlands and critical ecosystems for endangered fish & migratory birds and supplies food for millions. So whether you live near a project, downstream or elsewhere in Australia these projects effect you! 

Make a Submission Today!

The Latrobe Valley's first utility scale renewable energy project has been given the green light from the Victorian government, with planning approval for the Fraser Solar farm at Toongabbie fast-tracked as part of the Andrews government's economic response to Covid-19.

Friends of the Earth and local community and sustainability groups have welcomed the news, saying that this marks a shift to renewable energy in the region, and will deliver benefits for jobs, regional investment and the climate.

"This is an exciting step forward for the Latrobe Valley, it's good to know we will continue to have a future in energy production by building renewable energy here in our community" said Wendy Farmer President of community group Voices of the Valley. 

One of the claims we continue to see used by anti-wind campaigners in an attempt to turn people against wind farms is the claim that wind affects property prices — but what’s really going on with wind power and property values? Friends of the Earth's Yes 2 Renewables collective has undertaken a review of research on the topic to determine if there is in fact any relationship between wind farms and property prices, both globally and locally here in Australia.

MEDIA RELEASE: 2 September 2020

Andrews govt’s renewable energy push keeps Victoria on track to zero emissions

Friends of the Earth welcomes the Andrews government’s 'VRET 2' announcement of a ‘market sounding’ for 600MW of new renewable energy capacity.

The new capacity will repower government operations—including all the state’s schools and hospitals and Melbourne’s train network—with solar and wind energy.

"Powering the state’s schools, hospitals, and metro trains with renewable energy helps keep Victoria on track to achieve zero emissions," said Cam Walker, Friends of the Earth campaigns coordinator.

"The positive announcement shows that economic recovery programs can benefit the community and the climate. It shows that governments can create jobs while cutting emissions."

This message is directly from the Djab Wurrung Embassy:

At the start of August, Susan Ley federal minister for environment, gave the go ahead yet again to Vic Roads / MRPV starting a countdown for the state to remove us and clear the embassy camps.

We have time to prepare and we need your help to do that.

Between December 2019 and July 2020, Environmental group, Friends of the Earth, carried out 200 koala surveys in the Strzelecki Ranges and Gippsland Region. The surveys hoped to better understand habitat utilisation by koalas in the region. The surveys add to other survey work conducted in the region between 2013-16.

Friends of the Earth believe that there may be as few as 1,500 of Victoria’s only endemic koalas remaining raising concerns for the future of the iconic animal.

The concerns come after the launch of the Koala Surveys: Strzelecki Ranges/Gippsland Regions December 2019 - July 2020 report.

While workers are still figuring out how to protect their loved ones and livelihoods through the fallout of COVID-19 the bosses are ticking a few things off their wish list. We are seeing systematic attacks on the sick leave, penalty rates and job securities unionists have won and worked long and hard to protect. Instead of fighting back one issue or one workplace at a time, we need a united fight now. 

Join us for a forum with experts, community members and local activists to find out how the North East Link will affect you.