po box 97 cowes 3922 australia email [email protected] telephone +61 3 5951 2800 facsimile +61 3 5956 8394 website www.penguins.org.au abn 88 940 950 118

3 April 2017

Mr Michel Masson Chief Executive Officer Infrastructure Victoria Level 16, 530 Collins Street MELBOURNE VICTORIA 3000

Dear Mr Masson,

Re: Infrastructure Victoria Discussion Papers related to Preparing Advice on Victoria’s Future Ports Capacity:  Second Container Port Advice - Evidence Base Discussion Paper  Second Container Port Advice - Consultation Summary

Thank you for the opportunity to provide feedback on the evidence base and discussion paper relating to the development of a new container port within the State of Victoria. Nature Parks (the Nature Parks) has reviewed your Second Container Port Advice Discussion Paper and associated evidence base recently released and has concerns regarding the completeness and accuracy of the information base that is being used to develop the advice to the State.

General Overview of Phillip Island Nature Parks The Nature Parks manages in excess of 1800 hectares of crown land on Phillip Island on behalf of the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change and is the home of the Penguin Parade. The Nature Parks prides itself on finding a balance between world-renowned conservation programs and quality ecotourism experiences. Revenue generated from these ecotourism experiences is reinvested into vital conservation, research and education programs.

The area within and surrounding the Nature Parks is home to what is probably the largest Little Penguin colony in the world (c. 28, 000 breeding birds) along with Victoria’s largest colony of breeding Crested Terns at the Nobbies, the world’s largest colony of the Australian Fur Seal at Seal Rocks and the world’s largest colony of Short-tailed Shearwaters.

The Little Penguins on Phillip Island are a significant cultural, scientific and economic resource for Victoria and Australia. Ernst & Young (2016) estimated that the Penguin Parade on Phillip Island generates c. $498.2 million per annum in income (direct and indirect economic activity) for the State of Victoria, driving 2,120 full-time equivalent positions and it is also one of the top natural tourist attractions in Australia.

Further information on the wider impact of the Nature Parks in the Bass Coast shire alone can be found in ‘Phillip Island and San Remo Visitor Economy Strategy 2035 Growing Tourism’ jointly produced by the Bass Coast Shire Council and the Victorian Government.

Open items for consideration The Nature Parks has concerns regarding the possible impacts of the proposal but has insufficient information on which to make more informed comment.

The Nature Parks’ earlier proposal to the former Port of Hastings Development Authority outlined research considered necessary to address possible risks to Little Penguins and Australian Fur Seals. This research would help

determine the level of confidence with which the potential stressors, evidence for relationships and potential impact pathways of the Port of Hastings project would have on these species. The requested research has not been undertaken.

New items for consideration There are further factors that need to be considered when making a decision. Importantly, the suggestion that dredge spoil may be dumped in Bass Strait is of considerable relevance, as penguins feed extensively in Bass Strait (see Figure 1 below).

Our specific key points on the Second Container Port Advice – Evidence Discussion Paper are:  The report concentrates only on the area around the port development and does not adequately consider flow-on effects to other parts of the environment, both within and outside the entrance, nor does it canvass the effects of dumping dredge spoil and extracting sand in Bass Strait which may be in or adjacent to important feeding areas of penguins, seals and other wildlife.  The GHD environment assessment, although acknowledging the importance of Little Penguins to the Victorian economy, takes too narrow a view of the potential impacts of development on the penguin population, concentrating only on the numbers likely to be using the area immediately adjacent to the port expansion. The penguins breeding on Phillip Island range widely in Bass Strait, as can be seen from Figure 1 below.

Figure 1 - The satellite-determined locations of foraging penguins from Phillip Island (2005 to 2010 Phillip Island Nature Parks ©unpublished data).  The GDH environmental assessment, while acknowledging the development is within the Western Port Ramsar site, dismisses the potential risks as being unavoidable. The two Ramsar sites noted (Wester Port and Bay West) are fundamentally different in that one is composed mainly of a number of freshwater lagoons, some of which are managed to support threatened freshwater species such as Growling Grass Frog as well as provide roosting and feeding areas for migratory waders, whereas Western Port has a different set of natural values including extensive mudflats and is used by a different suit of species.  That the importance of Western Port as a fish nursery for recreational species, and species eaten by Little Penguins and Australian Fur Seals has not been fully taken into consideration.

Risk of oil contamination Contamination of Little Penguins from oil pollution and associated chemicals is one of the greatest risks to the Nature Parks. Within the Western Port region, the northern part of the western arm is identified in VicPlan as an area of very high risk for a marine pollution event and the southern part of the western arm as an area of high risk. This risk has not been addressed adequately in the current reports.

The obvious proximity of the shipping channel past the Summerland Peninsula places local wildlife at risk, including the Little Penguin colony, Crested Terns, Australian Fur Seals and Short-tailed Shearwaters. Increased shipping movements will correspond with increased risks.

Risks to tourism The Nature Parks is very concerned about the lack of assessment of the possible impact on tourism in the Western Port region, particularly Phillip Island and the Bass Coast, caused by a port development at Hastings. We note:  The impacts on tourism are dismissed rather summarily in the report based on the tenuous conclusion that the port development will not have an impact on penguins and therefore not on tourism in the region in general.  That no tourism bodies were included in the second round of consultation, nor were they invited to the workshops.  That impacts on tourism have been dismissed without taking into consideration all available information and data deficiencies relating to the biology of the Little Penguins and Australian Fur Seal and the fish species they rely on for food.  The potential effects on non-penguin related tourism are not considered e.g. impacts on beach amenity by dredging.  There are a number of seal tours that rely on the presence of seals on Seal Rocks, these have not been included in the social or economic analysis. If the seal colony was affected by marine pollution or loss of food resources, seals could move away.

Risk to Little Penguins GDH report states “As the penguins from the Penguin Parade spend most of their time in Bass Strait with only some usage of the western arm of Western Port (Dann, 2011), impacts on the Little Penguin in Western Port – and potential resulting impacts on tourism – are unlikely to be significant. There is a greater potential for impacts on penguin feeding and behaviour from dredging and disposal activities in Bass Strait”. Little Penguins and tourism (GDH report page 55-56).

Our concerns regarding the effects of the proposal are driven more by what we do not know than by what we do know. For example we do not know how the penguins will respond to increased turbidity in their feeding grounds caused by dredging, dumping of dredge spoil and, more particularly, if the penguin’s responses to the avoidance of increased turbidity by their prey species will result in significant reductions in their feeding efficiency and breeding productivity. More research is required.

While it is true that large numbers of Little Penguins do not use the upper reaches of Western Port adjacent to the proposed port development for foraging, extensive numbers raft offshore in the evening to access burrows along Phillip Island’s northern coastline. In addition, penguins that live on the south coast that forage to the west of Phillip Island, including visits to Port Phillip Bay or the west coast of Victoria, regularly traverse within 20km of the shore and pass across the mouth of Western Port.

During the breeding season Little Penguins from Phillip Island forage in the area from near the coast to 50km into Bass Strait on a daily basis. Any loss of water clarity could decrease their ability to forage and negatively impact on their breeding. This could result in a loss of the numbers of Little Penguin chicks for that fledge for at least the life of the project and could have longer-term consequences for the population. Having adequate minimum numbers of

penguins is essential for the daily operation of the Penguin Parade. These issues, while identified in the GDH report, do not appear to have been assessed.

It should be noted that increases in penguin numbers are related to land-based activities, and not related to the presence or absence of ships and dredging. The effect of shipping and dredging on Little Penguins needs further research.

The diet of Little Penguins relies on a variety of fish species, particularly anchovies and pilchards. Some of the populations of these species breed in Western Port and migrate in and out of Western Port annually. Any decrease in the nursery and egg-laying fish habitat in Western Port could thus adversely affect the available fish for Little Penguins.

Risk to Australian Fur Seals Further research and analysis is required to determine the potential impacts of dredge plume on the foraging of seals as well as effects on their prey species. Fur seals from Seal Rocks forage extensively in Bass Strait (see maps in Figure 2 below) in areas likely to be affected by dredge spoil dumping. The combined individual foraging ranges (dark grey), and core areas (red lines), are used by Australian Fur Seals from the Seal Rocks breeding site between June and December. Yellow dots represent other sites used (Salton et al. in press).

Figure 2 – Foraging areas of Australian fur seals from Seal rocks off Phillip Island (Marcus Salton© & PINP unpublished data©).

Impact on northern beaches on Phillip Island The impact of increased tidal flow and waves created by vessel movements on Phillip Island’s northern beaches has not been addressed. These beaches are important tourism assets to Phillip Island. Tourism includes kayaking, use of paddle boards, yachting and beach use. This shoreline is also subject to an inundation layer developed by Bass Coast Shire Council and the area between Cowes and Observation Point is particularly vulnerable to both erosion and sea- level rise.

The spit at Observation Point is one of the most important roosting areas for migratory shorebirds, including species listed under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act such as Eastern Curlew (endangered), Curlew Sandpiper (endangered) and Red Knot. Loss of natural sand progression to Observation Point could reduce its value as a roost site. In addition, noise and lights from ships anchoring in the basin to the east of Cowes could negatively impact on the birds as well as other night flying species such as Short-tailed Shearwater that are attracted to lights on ships.

Other Key Areas of Concern Other areas of concern include:  The only reference to marine pests is a statement of the current condition. This is inadequate and further study is needed. The further introduction of marine pests, pathogens, disease or viruses may affect the long- term viability of invertebrate and vertebrate populations which could affect the food sources of penguins and other birds.  Western Port is an important Anchovy spawning area and a major component on the marine food chain. Impacts on fish population will need to be examined and while this is acknowledged in the GHD report, no details are given on the effect of possible impacts on populations.  Dredging is known to increase water turbidity and we believe that all dredge spoil should be contained on land to minimise turbidity.

Next Steps I propose that sensitive monitoring parameters related to Little Penguins and other key wildlife be identified, that the project has clear trigger points for mitigation responses and an independent management system to implement the procedures in place. Great effort must be put into identifying not only the short-term effects of the project, but the severity of long-term effects. The consequences of any detrimental effects of the proposal on the region could be significant and pose increased risk to the natural resources of the Nature Parks, and the business itself.

We acknowledge the work and research that Infrastructure Victoria has undertaken to date and look forward to being informed of the future advice that will be given to Government in May this year.

Yours sincerely,

Catherine Basterfield Chief Executive Officer