In October news, forest reserved in Strzelecki ranges, Koalathon 2026, FoE Melb AGM, Act on Climate music & poetry fundraiser, adaptation, offshore wind and transmission lines surveys, mineral mines versus farming & environment, Better Buses campaign update & event, don't frack action, plus more!
Members please save the date for our 2026 AGM at FoE Melb HQ Thursday 12 November from 6pm RSVP here.
2000 hectares of forest reserved in the Strzeleckis. a long time coming
Friends of the Earth is happy to announce that 2,155 hectares of land has been added to the Brataualung Forest Park in the Strzelecki Ranges. The land was promised by the State Government back in 2008 as part of a deal to link existing reserves at Gunyah Gunyah to Tarra Bulga National Park. The Governor of Victoria signed the gazettal of land into law on the 8th of October 2026. This is in addition to 1,800 hectares of land that was gazetted by the Labor Government in 2018 as part of the same deal. The Brataualung Forest Park will eventually total 7,000 hectares of land when the full amount of land is reserved in 2028. So far, about 3,900 hectares (or 55.7%) of the Park has been Gazetted. The remaining 3,100 hectares is planned to be reserved by 2028. Read more.
Koalathon 2026 sign up!
Get on your marks for Koalathon 2026 Sun 25 Oct details & sign up here.
Better Buses Get the west moving event 17 Oct RSVP here.
Bus advocates welcome Greens announcement read more.
Better Buses welcome improvements but the west needs more read more.
Music and poetry fundraiser by the Act on Climate Collective 17 Oct
Join us for a great night out to fundraise for the Climate Adaptation Fair 2027. Get your tix here.
Adaptation needs community and convening! That’s why we hosted the first Climate Adaptation Fair in February 2025 at Borderlands Co-op in Footscray. Now, we are planning the second Adaptation Fair which will be held 14 March 2027 North Melbourne. We’d love your feedback on the 2025 fair, input on what you’d like to see for the upcoming one, and how you would like to participate. This survey will take 5-10 minutes. Fill in the community adaptation survey here. (Responses are collected by the Act on Climate Coordinator and shared only with the Fair working group.)
Gippsland Offshore Wind Community Survey
Friends of the Earth are conducting this survey to harness important local perspectives on proposed offshore wind developments in Gippsland. Your feedback will help us advocate for benefits to flow to local communities and ensure that community voices shape Victoria’s renewable energy future. Take the Gippsland Offshore Wind survey here.
Also, have your say on Mullungdung State Forest and VicGrid Transmission Lines proposal to connect offshore energy to the grid. Comments on the proposed route can be made here.
ANZ: Don’t Frack the Outback – Day of Action!
On Wednesday 21 October at 12pm, customers, shareholders, staff and concerned community members are heading to ANZ’s HQ in Melbourne to demand that the bank rules out funding pipelines that would unleash widespread fracking in Australia’s Outback.1
Will you join us?
📅 WHEN: Wednesday 21 October 2026, 12pm
📍 WHERE: ANZ HQ, 833 Collins Street, Docklands
📨 RSVP: On our Facebook event or via our webpage
FoE’s response to Vic Bushfire Inquiry report
The summer of 2025/26 saw terrible fires burn across Victoria. Approximately 440,000 hectares of land was burnt, 451 homes were destroyed, and there were huge economic impacts and loss of wildlife and farm animals.
In response, the Victorian parliament announced an Inquiry, to be run by the Environment and Planning Committee of the upper house. After receiving hundreds of submissions and holding many public forums, the committee delivered its Final Report to Parliament on 28 July 2026. The Government has 6 months to respond to the report, which is available here.
The final report contained 93 Findings and made 80 Recommendations, across the extent of its broad Terms of Reference. Read more.
Approval of Avonbank mine demonstrates failure of the planning system
Resources Victoria has approved a Mining Licence for WIM Resource's Avonbank project, 15 km northeast of Horsham. The project will mine heavy minerals sands, including zircon, titanium and rare earth elements.
“The approval in such a significant cropping area demonstrates that the planning system is failing farmers” said Cam Walker, campaigns co-ordinator with Friends of the Earth.
“The planning system, where each project is assessed in isolation of other proposals, demonstrates that the current approach is simply not fit for purpose in a place like north western Victoria”. Read more.
Critical minerals mines threaten farming & environment take action here.
Celebrate 20 Years of Climate Action!
Welcome to the inaugural ePublication of Chain Reaction (#1 2026) accessible to FoE Aust staff, volunteers and subscribers. Click here to read. This new format is in response to increased printing costs and suggestions for an 'ePub trial' by subscribers of Chain Reaction. We welcome any feedback on this new version of Chain Reaction. Please email to: [email protected]u
Subscribe to Chain Reaction Magazine
Chain Reaction magazine showcases the impact that Friends of the Earth has had on local, national, international climate and social action over the last 50 years. Many contributors are on the frontline of these struggles. Subscriptions are $40 annually and go directly to covering the costs of producing the magazine. When you subscribe to Chain Reaction you get the print magazine, as well as receiving exclusive access to two online e-publications annually, providing up-to-date news and analysis from the Chain Reaction team. Subscribe to Chain Reaction Magazine here.
Become a volunteer and join the Food Co-op & Cafe.
Listen back to 3CR Dirt Radio past episodes here