Blue Wedges

Blue Wedges is an Australian conservation organisation and coalition of environmental, recreational, commercial fishing, coastal protection and bay-user groups in Victoria. It emerged in response to proposals for major development in and around Melbourne's bays, particularly the Port of Melbourne's Channel Deepening Project in Port Phillip Bay and large-scale development proposals affecting Westernport, a wetland area with Ramsar recognition. The coalition argues that dredging, port expansion and related coastal works can create unacceptable risks for marine ecosystems, beaches, fisheries, wetlands and communities that depend on the bays for recreation and commercial activity. The name was developed in reference to Victoria's established Green Wedges policy, which seeks to protect rural and forested areas around the expanding Melbourne metropolitan region. Blue Wedges applied the same broad conservation idea to the waterways and coastal environments surrounding the city. Rather than operating solely as a conventional environmental organisation, the coalition brings together groups with varied interests, including angling organisations, professional fishing bodies, diving and charter operators, coastal protection groups and bayside industry sectors. This alliance gives its campaigns a wider constituency than a single-issue conservation group and frames bay protection as both an ecological and community concern. The coalition's best-known campaign concerned the Port Phillip Bay channel deepening program. Blue Wedges opposed the project and challenged the Commonwealth government's approval process in the Federal Court. In December 2007, it announced legal action intended to prevent the Commonwealth from authorising the project. The Federal Court ruled against the coalition on 15 January 2008, although a further hearing was scheduled after Blue Wedges obtained a temporary reprieve on 30 January. Mediation involving Blue Wedges and the Port of Melbourne Corporation took place on 6 February 2008, after which limited operations were permitted to begin on 8 February. The dispute made Blue Wedges a prominent participant in public debate over port infrastructure, environmental assessment and the balance between freight capacity and protection of Port Phillip Bay. Blue Wedges was supported by a joint statement from several established environmental organisations, including the Victorian National Parks Association, Australian Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Earth, The Wilderness Society, Environment Victoria, Port Phillip Conservation Council and Western Region Environment Centre. These organisations opposed the channel-deepening project and called for government action to protect the bays. The coalition also remained active in public discussion after dredging was completed. In 2013, Blue Wedges president Jenny Warfe discussed on local radio disputes over claims that the channel-deepening works had contributed to the removal of sand from Portsea Front Beach. The organisation's position and public interventions have therefore extended beyond court proceedings into continuing scrutiny of coastal impacts and government responses. Blue Wedges is best understood as a campaign coalition rather than a commercial brand: it has no known product portfolio, listed-company structure or publicly documented corporate parent.

Blue Wedges developed in Victoria as a conservation coalition focused on the protection of Melbourne's bays and adjacent coastal environments. Its name consciously echoes the Victorian government's Green Wedges policy, which concerns rural and forest conservation around the metropolitan fringe. Blue Wedges extended that concept into marine and estuarine settings, presenting Port Phillip and Westernport as ecological and community assets requiring protection from unsustainable development. The coalition brought together more than 65 environmental and bay-user groups. Its participants included angling organisations, professional fishing associations, diving and charter operators, traditional coastal-protection groups and bayside industry sectors. This composition made the organisation broader than a conventional environmental campaign: its case was based not only on biodiversity and habitat protection but also on fisheries, recreation, local amenity and the economic activities supported by healthy bays. Its central early campaign opposed the Port of Melbourne Corporation's Channel Deepening Project in Port Phillip Bay. Blue Wedges argued that deepening shipping channels could damage marine environments and produce wider coastal consequences. It was supported by a number of major environmental organisations, including the Victorian National Parks Association, Australian Conservation Foundation, Friends of the Earth, The Wilderness Society, Environment Victoria, Port Phillip Conservation Council and Western Region Environment Centre. Those groups issued a joint statement opposing the project and urging the Victorian government to take action to protect the bays. In December 2007, Blue Wedges pursued the issue through the Federal Court, challenging the Commonwealth in an attempt to prevent the project from receiving final approval. The court ruled against the coalition on 15 January 2008. Blue Wedges subsequently obtained a further hearing date of 20 February, creating a temporary reprieve. Mediation with the Port of Melbourne Corporation occurred on 6 February, and limited operations were allowed to commence two days later. These proceedings established the coalition as a significant public participant in debates about environmental approval, port expansion and the management of Victoria's coastal waters. Blue Wedges also opposed large-scale development affecting Westernport, a wetland area listed under the Ramsar Convention. Its wider program therefore covered both the impacts of port infrastructure in Port Phillip and development pressures in Westernport. Following completion of the Port Phillip dredging program, the coalition continued to participate in public discussion about its consequences. In 2013, president Jenny Warfe addressed local radio listeners about contested claims concerning the removal of sand from Portsea Front Beach and the relationship between beach erosion and the completed channel-deepening works. The available record does not establish a later organisational structure, ownership model or definitive current operating status.

• 2013

  Public discussion of Portsea beach erosion

  [1]Blue Wedgesen.wikipedia.org

  President Jenny Warfe discusses contested claims about sand loss at Portsea Front Beach following the Port Phillip dredging program.

• 2008

  Initial court ruling and mediation

  [1]Blue Wedgesen.wikipedia.org

  The Federal Court rules against Blue Wedges in January. After a further hearing is scheduled, mediation with the Port of Melbourne Corporation leads to permission for limited operations to commence in February.

• 2007

  Federal Court challenge announced

  [1]Blue Wedgesen.wikipedia.org

  Blue Wedges announces legal action against the Commonwealth over approval of the Port Phillip Bay channel-deepening project.

• Blue Wedges coalition forms around bay protection

  [1]Blue Wedgesen.wikipedia.org

  The coalition adopts a name derived from Victoria's Green Wedges policy and organises opposition to development considered unsustainable in Melbourne's bays.

A Victoria-focused coastal conservation coalition that combines environmental advocacy with the interests of fishing, angling, diving, charter, recreation and bayside communities.

Product categories. Environmental advocacy · Coalition campaigning · Public-interest submissions and statements · Legal and policy challenges · Community education on bay and coastal protection

• 2007Opposition to the Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project

  Victoria · Australia

  A coalition of more than 65 environmental and bay-user groups opposed the Port of Melbourne Corporation's plan to deepen shipping channels in Port Phillip Bay, citing environmental and coastal risks.

  Outcome. The legal challenge did not stop the project. After court proceedings and mediation, limited operations were permitted to start in February 2008.

  Source
• Protect Port Phillip and Westernport bays

  Victoria · Australia

  Blue Wedges campaigns against development in Melbourne's bays that it considers environmentally unsustainable, including major port, dredging and coastal-development proposals.

  Outcome. The coalition became a recognised public voice on bay protection and continued advocacy through legal proceedings, statements and media engagement.

  Source
• Opposition to large-scale Westernport development

  Victoria · Australia

  Blue Wedges opposed large-scale development affecting Westernport, emphasising the importance of the area's Ramsar-listed wetland values.

  Source

• 2008

  Enter mediation with the Port of Melbourne CorporationStrategy

  Background

  After the initial court ruling and a temporary reprieve, the coalition continued negotiations concerning the proposed dredging operations.

  Action taken

  Blue Wedges participated in mediation with the Port of Melbourne Corporation on 6 February 2008.

  Aftermath

  Limited channel-deepening operations were allowed to begin on 8 February.

  Source

• 2007

  Pursue federal litigation over channel deepeningStrategy

  Background

  Blue Wedges opposed Commonwealth approval of the Port Phillip Bay channel-deepening project and sought judicial intervention.

  Action taken

  The coalition initiated Federal Court proceedings in December 2007.

  Aftermath

  The court ruled against Blue Wedges in January 2008, followed by a further hearing and mediation.

  Source

1. 1Blue Wedgesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Blue Wedges official websitebluewedges.org.au