Welcome to issue #35 for November 2025.

Finally, some good news for koalas – they are establishing a Great Koala National Park in NSW. But on the reverse side, the Christmas Island Shrew has been declared extinct.

This excellent TED talk is a very insightful and optimistic analysis of the political and social implications of our global transition to renewable energy production and use. It has significant implications for Australia’s future global positioning.

I was disheartened to read that Australian researchers have predicted that Woodside’s Scarborough project will lead to an additional 484 heat related deaths in Europe alone, by the end of this century, disputing Woodside’s own environmental assessment of the project.

I do not know about you, but I get more and more annoyed every time I read about foreign oil and gas companies paying no Australian royalties or taxes on the billions they get from selling our natural resources. Why do our governments let them?

In other bad news, analysis suggests that we should blame Santos for soaring gas prices, and further analysis shows that they have made $48 Billion in sales in the last 10 years but have not paid Australian taxes on any of it!

Home batteries are good for the community because they reduce the need for longer distance electricity transmission capacity and reduce local electricity costs. That’s why there are government rebates to encourage people to install them. Unfortunately, it seems that WA is showing the way to NOT set up a home battery rebate scheme.

On a related topic, VPPs (Virtual Power Plants) are getting more press, so you may want to watch this recording of the Solar Citizens webinar on this important technology.

This video talks about Melbourne’s stormwater management. This is especially important for the City of Port Phillip because we are the end of the road, just before the stormwater reaches the bay. For Port Phillip, adopting good water sensitive urban design principles throughout Melbourne is especially important because this is the best way to minimize the stormwater reaching our area (and minimize our flooding and insurance costs).

This video is a good explanation of the Fisherman’s Bend redevelopment and why trams are so important to its future. This is why it is so disappointing that there is no firm schedule for when the tram (and train) lines will be built – experience with poor public transport in Melbourne’s outer suburbs clearly shows that this infrastructure must be put in place before the new population arrives, but somehow the Victorian Government does not seem to have gotten the message.

Staying in Fisherman’s Bend, there are experiments now running there that put worm farms underneath street seating to locally compost food waste for reuse. An interesting idea, but  larger composting bins in community gardens might be more practical.

In more bad news, a “climate trigger” that could be used to block new coal and gas projects has been formally excluded from the coming federal environmental laws overhaul – Labor’s climate performance continues to disappoint. The Greens have gone as far as to say the proposed nature laws revamp is “worse than the status quo“

I read with great interest that Boroondara Council has committed $3 million to expand and connect their network of walking and cycling paths in FY2025-26. I would love to see a similar commitment in the City of Port Phillip.

Ending on a more positive note, I was very pleased to learn that the Monash Sustainable Development Institute has released a new guide to help the healthcare sector transition to zero emissions and become environmentally sustainable – a very important goal.

Environment is no one’s property to destroy; it’s everyone’s responsibility to protect.

Mohith Agadi

We are living and working on the unceded lands of the Yalukit Willam people. We pay our respects to the traditional owners of the land and their ongoing connection to land, waters, sky and culture.

Many residents in Southside live in apartments. This event is for you.

Learn how to navigate solar for your apartment block and find out about the rebates available to support you. There are challenges, but de-carbonising and getting off gas can be a rewarding journey. This event is designed to help you get started.

Come along and hear about the Victorian Solar for Apartments program which offers significant rebates for eligible apartment buildings. And hear case studies of apartment building experiences with rooftop solar and other aspects of electrification.

Speakers:

Will Anstee – Allume Energy  to introduce us to SolShare, the world-first, Australian technology that enables you to connect a single rooftop solar system across multiple apartments, and he’ll provide insights into the Victorian Solar for Apartments program.

Trent Jones – All Electric Homes to share his wealth of experience assisting apartment dwellers with electrification, whether it is rooftop solar, electric hot water or efficiency measures.

Both speakers will present case studies of apartment buildings that have transformed their energy use in different ways. There will be plenty of time for questions and sharing of local electrification experiences following the speakers.

This is a free event, but places are limited. Register here now!

Have Your Say

The City of Port Phillip currently has environment related open public consultations on:

• the proposed streetscape plan for Carlisle Street

As always we recommend that you Have Your Say

Our friends are also hosting upcoming activities, as follows:

• EVerything Electric Melbourne is on at the Melbourne Showgrounds on 14-16 November – Learn more and get tickets here.
• You might like to visit the Glen Eira Eco Expo at the Glen Eira Town Hall on Sunday 16 November, 2-4pm. Learn more and register here.
• Climate200 are hosting a Zoom webinar on Woodside vs. the Planet How a Company Captured a Country on November 6, starting at 6:30pm. For details and to register.

As always, the Port Phillip EcoCentre has several events and activities on during November, and you might like to review their events calendar. The Share & Swap Shop is always popular, and EnviroFest 2025 sounds like a lot of fun, and others also look good.

Finally, there are several climate petitions and other activities that you may want to get involved in:

• Our Beyond Gas Network friends are asking for people to lobby our Labor government for stronger nature laws – email your MP and see here for a template.
• The Wilderness Society has:
  •  an email campaign demanding that the Australian government give better funding for threatened species and environmental protection.
  • an email campaign asking superannuation funds to stop dealing in deforestation
• Solar Citizens has a Raise the Roof petition to ask the government to increase support for battery backed rooftop solar, especially for renters, apartments and businesses.
• The Australia Institute has a petition to make fossil fuel exporters pay for the damage they are causing by enacting a climate damage compensation levy on exports.
• The Climate 200 open letter to Sussan Ley is asking for the Liberal Party to adopt a 75% by 2035 emissions reduction target.
• The Greens Party open letter calling on Labor to protect nature and create more national parks
• The Nature Pledge organization is asking companies to pledge to ensure housing and commercial developments protect our remaining threatened species habitats – a very laudable ambition!
• The Australian Marine Conservation Society is running an email campaign asking the Australian government to greatly strengthen our network of marine parks as part of its upcoming review.
• Oxfam is running an email campaign demanding that Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen makes polluting corporations pay their fair share of climate change costs.

Finally, the Climate Council has a new research report that you might want to read that links property values to flood risk, and thus quantifies the related costs of climate change.

Port Phillip Urban Forest Precinct Plans

The Council recently published its urban forest precinct plan for St Kilda East and Balaclava. The next plans to be prepared will be for St Kilda, St Kilda West and Albert Park.

We would like to hear from you If you live in these areas and have ideas about what should be done to increase greening within them. We would also like to hear about good and bad recent experiences regarding tree maintenance in these areas.

Just reply to this email with your comments.

How industries and individuals are challenging the wasteful norm

Humans have created more waste in the last 40 years than in all of human history. And landfills are running out of space. As landfills reach capacity, the circular economy offers a smarter way forward—reusing, repairing, and rebuilding. Look here to learn how industries and individuals are rethinking waste, valuing longevity over disposability, and designing a more sustainable future.

There is also this very interesting 20 minute video about the problems and impact of microplastics and how plastics can be eliminated from oyster farming (which is very beneficial to the environment).

I was amazed to read that Brown Brothers is starting to sell wine in aluminium bottles to lower their carbon footprint. Very good – I will eventually get used to it, like I did with screw caps instead of corks (and now I much prefer the quality and convenience screw caps).

I read that at long last SA and NSW are including wine and spirit bottles into their container deposit schemes, but this “no brainer” extension does not seem to have occurred to our VIC authorities.

Fast, flexible energy solutions for data Centres

Data Centres are clearly a massive growth industry, and they are energy hogs, but when carefully combined with other grid loads they can run much more efficiently and stabilize the overall grid. Learn more.

Some experts believe that Australia is starting to see an emerging opportunity to provide data services to Asia from new data centres located in Australia. It is felt that we have considerable low cost renewable energy resources, we already have the skills and expertise needed to build and then operate large data centres, and we have a good stable political environment. But we do need to rethink some of our regulatory frameworks, and who should pay for the electricity grid investments needed to support them.

It is good to know that the Australian government is starting to recognize this opportunity and is setting new rules for the design and operation of data centres here. For example, all data centres hosting federal workloads are required to meet a minimum 5-star NABERS Energy rating. These new rules could set a new global benchmark. Learn more here.

eBikes bring considerable benefits, but the dangers must be properly managed

A Swedish study showed that the car driven distance reduced by about 40% once the driver was provided with an e-bike. They are very convenient for short trips, especially if the countryside is hilly. Cargo e-bikes even make transporting groceries and other goods easy. And, they are much cheaper to use and maintain than a car. However, overpowered e-bikes used badly are not safe for riders or pedestrians. E-bikes are quietly revolutionary. The reported fire problems are also overwhelmingly caused by poorly designed, cheap batteries that do not pass reasonably product safety regulations. Once the e-bike sector is properly regulated, authorities should focus on making the most of their potential. Learn more.

We really do need the City of Port Phillip to get personal mobility working effectively.

20 Years On: Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park

A new study led by Deakin University and Parks Victoria has provided a rare, long-term look at how fish communities have responded to 20 years of no-take protection in the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park (MNP). Using baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) across 2018 to 2022, the research compared fish inside and outside the MNP to understand how species and habitats are faring.

Two reef-associated species stood out as clear winners inside the park. Bluethroat Wrasse (Notolabrus tetricus) were more abundant and larger, particularly males, reflecting their small home ranges, reliance on reef habitat, and protection from fishing. Six-Spine Leatherjackets (Meuschenia freycineti) also showed consistently higher abundance, benefiting from the structured reef habitats and limited mobility that keep them within the protected area.

Who says you cannot have an all electric earthmoving site

All 40 vehicles, including all the excavators and trucks, etc, working at this earthmoving site in The Netherlands where they are building 20kms of flood wall are electric. They have onsite fast charging to recharge the vehicles while the workers have lunch. Learn more.

The challenges of making global shipping green

In this video, the always informative Engineering with Rosie considers the future of the global shipping industry as it moves towards net zero. This is a big issue because global shipping now accounts for about 3% of global CO2 emissions, which is a lot! And without global shipping there are many, many daily necessities that you would no longer be able to buy. She analyzes and judges all the tauted alterntives and concludes that the most likely alternative is ammonia, but as she points out this fuel is very toxic and will expose ship crews and wildlife to significant health risks – an on ship ammonia leak would be much, much worse than a comparable fuel oil leak. After watching this video I am much less comfortable with future large scale use of ammonia as a fuel in global shipping.

Make your home bird friendly

Birds around your home can be a big plus, and while birds and cities don’t always mix well, there are simple changes you can implement to make your home more bird friendly, as explained in this good article. Add bird baths and hanging bird feeders, plant a variety of locally indigenous flowers and shrubs, and don’t be too quick to clean up twigs and leaves, or your windows. Think about nesting boxes, if you have the space. There are also local community groups that can advise on making your garden bird friendly – talk to the Yalukit Willam Nature Association or the Port Phillip EcoCentre, for example.

On a related topic, this excellent 10 minute video explains why we are seeing so many more noisy minors and far fewer smaller birds. (We have been changing habitats to minimize small shrubs where small birds can hide so they are not chased off by the very territorial noisy minors.)

If you want to learn about biodiversity sensitive urban design, and you really should, have a look at the When Wildlife Moves In website. And there are lots of good learning resources about BSUD (Biodiversity Sensitive Urban Design) here and here.

This Might Just Be the World’s Best Metro System

Trains are one of the most efficient and effective ways to move people around in urban areas. This video shows what a good metro/regional train system looks like. Unfortunately, it is about Seoul, Korea and not Melbourne, and we have a long way to go to catch up.

A bit of fun…

Who would have thought that the circular economy could extend to making household dust into footwear. I need to start saving the lint from my clothes dryer. Learn more.

And just for fun…