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.

Djap Wurrung Embassy Update

On Tuesday, Victoria Police were at the Djap Wurrung Embassy threatening Traditional Custodians and supporters with removal and arrest. They shut down the roads leading to the embassy, and are attempted to begin work on the Western Highway expansion that threatens land of cultural significance, including over 260 sacred trees.

Donate to the embassy here

Thanks to a strong community response, an injunction is now in place until Monday 25th March; the camp is still calling for immediate support on the ground, but for those unable to be there, it is imperative that we make our voices heard where it counts.

Join us in calling on Premier Daniel Andrews, Minister for Major Projects Jacinta Allan, Planning Minister Richard Wynne, and Minister for Roads Jaala Pulford, to immediately stop work on the expansion and call off the Victoria Police.
 
 
  

On Tuesday 19 March at 8:30 am, hundreds of Victorians will gather at the steps of state parliament to say “if you send our recycling to landfill, we will bring it to you.” Community members will put their weekly recycling on the steps of parliament to highlight government inaction on the issue and demand change.

High-quality photos of the action for use are AVAILABLE HERE, credit Julian Meehan

In recent weeks, the cracks in the Australian recycling system have been exposed.  China ceased taking our recycling in July 2018, resulting in a major loss of market.  Without markets to sell to, recycling companies are stockpiling, leading to dangerous conditions and possible fire hazards.  Two major recycling locations were closed by the EPA on 21 February, and a third closed voluntarily shortly after, resulting in 27 councils around Melbourne sending recycling to landfill.  Short term solutions have been found for some of these councils, but several are still having to resort to binning our recycling.

Its been a busy few weeks with work continuing on our meeting room makeover! The floors are sanded, the walls are painted, whiteboards are up and, and the meeting table moved back in.https://chuffed.org/project/radical-reno

Thanks to all the amazing folks who have given their time to make this project happen. Special mention to Andy and Dan who've spent many hours on the kitchen so far!

Chip in to the Radical Reno today and receive some great perks!

A bold and ambitious plan to tackle climate change known as the Green New Deal is building momentum in the United States.

Its backers herald it as a visionary approach that could create jobs while cutting emissions—uniting environmentalists, racial justice campaigners, workers, and indigenous activists. While its detractors claim that it is aspirational and impractical, the idea is ruffling feathers among fossil fuel backers.

Friends of the Earth Melbourne invites community members from all walks of life to meet for a forum to discuss what the Green New Deal means for climate action here in Australia.

Thursday March 21.

Environment group Friends of the Earth has criticized the Environment Protection Authority’s decision to approve a trial brown coal to hydrogen project in Latrobe Valley on the 14th of February as a costly distraction from action on climate change.

The project is led by the multinational corporation Kawasaki Heavy Industries. It would involve building a test plant to extract hydrogen from brown coal from the Loy Yang mine to be exported to Japan. This trial project requires the dredging of fragile ecosystems in Westernport (home to an internationally recognised biosphere and RAMSAR listed wetlands) to enable the export of the hydrogen from the Port of Hastings, and if it reached full scale the injecting of carbon-waste into the seabed off Ninety Mile Beach using unproven and risky technology.

Support FoE's RADICAL RENOVATION Fundraiser

Friends of Earth Melbourne urgently needs to raise $10,000 to complete much-needed upgrades to our community meeting space in Collingwood.

There are great gifts on offer when you support the 'RADICAL RENO' crowdfunder. We've got merch from some of FoE's favourite artists, Sam Wallman, UBToipa and Catherine Hearse, amazing gift packs from the FoE food Coop and Cafe, holiday house weekends, wine, and more!!

With $5000 we can finish stage one of the project: the floors, the walls, a new kitchen, and accessibility rails on the stairs.

With $10,000 we can finish all that *and* start stage 2: transforming the room with tech and functional upgrades, so that we can maximise the space for banner painting, prop making, fundraisers, campaign events and meetings for FoE collectives and the broader activist community.

Help keep the heart of Melbourne activism beating, and ensure we can continue to provide a free, community meeting space for many years to come!

Environmental organisation Friends of the Earth (FoE), today raised concerns about PFAS (Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) contaminants which may be present on food grown with recycled water in the Werribee South area of Victoria.

A recent study “Investigating recycled water use as a diffuse source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) to groundwater in Melbourne, Australia” published in Science of the Total Environment 644 (2018) 1409–1417 has revealed that recycled and groundwater from the Werribee South Irrigation District are contaminated with PFAS chemicals.

The PFAS laden water is applied to vegetables grown in the area. The likely source of the contaminated water is sewerage treated at the Western Treatment Plant, however FoE also believes that groundwater contamination may have been caused by the nearby RAAF Base Williams, Point Cook (Victoria), where PFAS fire fighting foam was used for many years.

The latest announcement by NSW Minister for Regional Water Niall Blair on the lower Darling has been dubbed a political stunt by Menindee locals.

This morning, NSW DPI began relocating the remaining fish that have survived the blue green algal blooms and fish kills the Wentworth weir pool and Narrandera Fisheries hatchery. 

This announcement comes over a week after the third mass fish kill in the area with locals expecting another in the coming days as temperatures are expected to drop once again. On Tuesday, Murray Cod and thousands of bony bream were seen congregating at weir 32, unable to enter the fish ladder and stuck gasping for air.

Media release. December 28, 2018. Friends of the Earth.

Community mobilises against oil and gas exploration in western VIC

The Andrews government has released five oil and gas exploration blocks in the offshore Otway Basin in state waters (up to 3 nautical miles off the coast) extending from Port Campbell to the South Australian border.

They are currently open for tender (proposals close on February 15).

More than 1,300 square kilometres of coastal waters and coastline in western Victoria has been opened up to gas exploration, and may include the potential for drilling from onshore to access offshore fields, “subject to regulatory approvals".

National environmental organisation Friends of the Earth opposes any new onshore or offshore oil or gas production.