Thursday, February 07, 2008
IT BEEEEGINS
Dredging is underway in Port Phillip Bay - or, as Traceeee Hutchison calls it, “my bay”:
The controversial channel deepening of Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay has started.
Dredging began in the the southern end of the Bay in waters off Rye this morning.
About one dozen protesters on kayaks and surfboards were on the water while another 20 people voiced their opposition from the shoreline.
The Blue Wedges group says rough conditions on the Bay limited the number of protesters.
Their ability to spell is limited, too. The war over Traceeee’s Bay is all about milk; here’s dairy farmer Max Jelbart:
“My (milk) gets used in butters and cheeses and milk powders that go out to more than 40 countries,” he said. Deepening shipping channels in Port Phillip Bay would mean bigger ships could come to take his produce overseas. “The sooner we do this, the cheaper it will be to send them.”
Opposing Jelbart is fisherman Andrew Horne:
“It just shuts my business down,” he said yesterday. “Sediment from dredging will be like tipping a pint of milk into your bath every night. People will not be able to go fishing within the bay.”
Fishermen used to be known for their patience.