Friends of the Earth (FoE) Melbourne  is a non-for profit organisation working for a socially equitable and environmentally sustainable future. The international Friends of the Earth network is  active in 77 countries with over 2 million members. Read more.

The announcement from ExxonMobil that it is planning to sell all its assets is enormous news for Gippsland.

The offshore oil and gas industry has been a creator of jobs and economic activity for decades and the sale will send shock waves through the region.

However, it is hard to imagine any company wanting to buy oil and gas fields that are clearly in steep decline.

MEDIA ALERT: THURSDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2019

Community petition delivery to Parliament calling on decision makers to stop the North East Link

This Thursday, community members will gather at Parliament steps to deliver a petition calling on Premier Daniel Andrews, Minister for Transport Infrastructure Jacinta Allan and Planning Minister Richard Wynne to stop the $16 billion North East Link toll road.

The event marks the end of the public hearings where concerned citizens had the opportunity to raise issues about the project before an independent panel.

Cindy, a school striker, and Lucinda from Friends of Earth's Act on Climate collective here. We officially invite you to the Global Climate Strike on September 20!

The Federal government is failing embarrassingly on climate. Australia's carbon emissions are at a seven-year high and our government wants to open to new coal, gas, and oil projects! Whaaat?

The Federal Government has launched an 'Inquiry into the prerequisites for nuclear energy in Australia' and are accepting submissions until 16 September. 

Nuclear power is a dangerous distraction from real movement on the pressing energy decisions and climate actions we need. Rather than fuel carbon emissions and radioactive risk through domestic coal power plants and the export of coal and uranium, Australia should embrace the fastest growing global energy sector ‒ renewables ‒ and become a driver of clean energy thinking and technology. Renewable energy is affordable, low risk, clean, and popular. Nuclear is simply not. Our shared energy future is renewable, not radioactive.

The North East link is a mega toll road proposed to expand the Eastern Freeway up 24 lanes, dividing community and funnelling more traffic onto Hoddle street.

26,000 trees and 9 MCGs worth of parks and open space will be destroyed by this mega toll road.

To mark the end of the Public Hearings, where community members spoke up about their concerns with the project, we will be delivering our petition to Parliament!

RSVP Here

Friends of the Earth is excited to announce that we have joined together with unions, community groups to become part of the recently launched Cooperative Power energy cooperative. 

Cooperative Power is a newly formed cooperative for Australia's energy sector. This new model takes the power back from huge energy corporations, for the benefit of people and our planet. It's a new way for people to buy energy and have a say in how it's created and how much it costs.

The Cooperative Power vision is to have a socially and community-owned retailer that invests in and purchases community renewable energy, and subsidises the roll out of energy efficiency improvements as well as renewable energy infrastructure for working-class households. No one, and no community should be left behind by the transition.

No New Gas in Victoria

From 2011 until 2017, the Victorian community, especially regional communities in the south of the state, campaigned hard to win the ban on fracking and the moratorium on onshore conventional gas drilling.

While fracking (unconventional gas drilling) was banned permanently, a moratorium was placed on onshore conventional exploration and drilling. This has been in force since 2014, has been extended once, and will expire on June 30, 2020.

Having a ban and moratorium has given certainty to farming communities, who can feel safe from the negative threats of local gas production. It has also stopped new fossil fuels from being developed in a time where climate science makes it abundantly clear that the time for new coal, gas and oil is over.

Now the community faces the prospect of the moratorium being lifted and exploration and conventional gas drilling starting again.

Send an email to Daniel Andrews demanding that he extend the moratorium and protect Victoria from new fossil fuels.

There is a huge appetite for more public transport in Melbourne – when the Suburban Rail Loop was first announced the public celebration was enormous. People want public transport to be prioritised. But will the Suburban Rail Loop meet expectations?