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, and will expire on June 30, 2020.

In the next few months, the state government will decide whether to extend the moratorium or let it lapse. Over the past year, the Victorian Gas Program has been investigating what onshore gas resources exist. Once the final report is released (likely to happen within the next 3 months), the government will make a decision about the future of the moratorium. We have until March to build a strong voice demanding that the state government acts to protect our state by extending the onshore gas moratorium for another five years.

We are organising state wide actions over the weekend of February 8 and 9 to get the issue on the government’s radar.

Many thanks to everyone who supported the actions

There is a short report here.

We need to keep the pressure on the Victorian government so it would still be very helpful if you would post an image as per the directions below.

Show your opposition to new fossil fuels

Please join this simple 'photo selfie' action.

The format is the same as the one we held in October last year.

Communities can say NO to the fossil fuel industry. Join us anytime over the weekend to support farming communities at risk from the negative threats of local gas production, and stand with communities who know that the time for new oil, coal and gas is over.

• Get a group together in your community, identify a good location to hold a public action. It could be somewhere iconic at risk from drilling or somewhere that will be impacted by climate change.
• Choose what time on the day you want to meet, and advertise it in your community. Friends of the Earth will publicise all the actions across the state if you email us the details or add them to the event facebook page WHEN

Where

Communities all over Victoria - wherever you are. There will be some organised events: please see below for listings.

Check here for a background paper on why Victoria doesn’t need new gasfields to be developed.

Action in Warrnambool

Please join Friends of the Earth, Protect the West and other local community groups for a morning of action on Saturday 8th February in central Warrnambool to show your support for the moratorium and call for a five-year extension.

This event will take place in Warrnambool CBD - Location TBC.

When: Saturday February 08, 2020 at 10am - 12pm

More details and speakers announced soon.

Extra information available here.

Facebook event page for Warrnambool here.

Group photo in Gippsland

Extend the Moratorium Saturday, 8th February.

Newry Hall - Upper Maffra Mechanic’s Institute

Please join us for a group photo to be taken outside the Newry Hall on Saturday morning. We need to send a strong message to the state government that an onshore gas industry is not welcome in Victoria- the nation's largest producer of food and fibre. Our arable land and precious water supplies need to be saved for future generations. Please bring a carload, including children. The photo will be emailed to politicians and uploaded to social media. Hope you can spare half an hour towards securing Gippsland's food bowl.

Full details here. 

Action in Melbourne

This mobile action will happen at various locations around Melbourne. It will have a gas drilling theme.

When: Saturday February 08.

Meet at Birrarung Marr, by the Yarra River, near the Federation Square roof top car park at 12.30am. If you can't find us please call or text Phil on 0490 064 139.

Please come in worker, high vis gear. Bring water and a hat.

How to do your action

Please consider rsvp'ing so we know how many people have signed up, and we can send you a media kit a few days before the actions.

1/ Get together with a few friends or your local group anytime over the weekend of February 8 and 9.

2/ Make a placard saying #ExtendtheMoratorium

Feel free to also include details on any local issues you are campaigning on. Maybe you oppose oil drilling in the Great Australian Bight or offshore gas drilling in Victoria (details here). Maybe you’re working on another local issue and want to promote that. Please feel free to do so. If you use the #ExtendtheMoratorium hashtag it will show up in the coverage of this action and broaden the reach of your local campaign.

3/ Take a photo and post it on your social media. Please post to any platform you use.

For maximum effect, please tag in the following people:

The Premier, Daniel Andrews:

@DanielAndrewsMP

Deputy Premier James Merlino

@JamesMerlinoMP

Tim Pallas, Treasurer

@timpallas

Jaclyn Symes, Minister for Agriculture, Regional Development and Resources

@JaclynSymes

And please use at least one of the hashtags: #ExtendtheMoratorium #KeepItInTheGround #NoOnshoreGas

Possible text to use with your photo (and then tag the other MPs into your photo):

The community fought hard for the fracking ban & moratorium on gas drilling. The time for new fossil fuels is over. @DanielAndrewsMP – please #ExtendtheMoratorium

Maybe you're shy about posting a selfie.

Here is a Plan B: Post an image of a place that you love, that's either directly threatened by gas drilling, or by climate change. Gas drilling produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that is helping to fuel climate change. All places and ecosystems we love are at threat. 

4/ And please also feel free to post photos on the event page on facebook. This page will also list any local actions that are already planned.

You can check here for extra information on the campaign to stop new fossil fuel development in Victoria.

And if you haven’t already done so, please sign the petition to the premier. You can sign it here.