Offshore issues could prove decisive in ocean-loving Victorian electorates

In the fiercely contested Victorian electorates of Wannon and Monash, candidates are eyeing the ocean in their battle to win over voters.

These marginal seats cover much of Victoria’s coastline where offshore wind projects, undersea cable routes and seismic blasting for resources are among the big issues playing out in local campaigns.

In Monash, which takes in Phillip Island and stretches along much of the Gippsland coast, residents say the looming election helped defeat an offshore power company’s plan to explore a possible cable route through the pristine Waratah Bay near Wilsons Promontory.

The pristine beach at Waratah Bay. Offshore wind company Gippsland Skies had planned to explore a cable route at the beach. Credit: Justin McManus

The proposal sparked fierce community resistance. Some candidates for Monash also publicly voiced their opposition.

In a statement earlier this month, Gippsland Skies backed away from the plan, saying it would no longer explore its proposed offshore grid connection cable route at Waratah Bay after community consultation.

The company is proposing to build a wind farm in the ocean, about 30 kilometres from Wilsons Promontory. It now intends to explore an eastern cable route, which would avoid Waratah Bay.

Labor’s Monash candidate Tully Fletcher said Gippsland Skies should never have proposed the Waratah Bay cable route.

“I met with Gippsland Skies to confirm I would oppose their plan if elected to represent Monash, and I’m pleased they publicly ruled it out two days later,” he said.

Plans to produce offshore wind in the coast off Victoria are playing into the federal election campaign. Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

However, Fletcher does support offshore wind for Gippsland, saying the region has the potential to become a hub for jobs, investment and energy security.

Fletcher is attempting to unseat Russell Broadbent, who is re-contesting Monash as an independent after losing the Liberal Party’s endorsement. He previously held his electorate for more than 20 consecutive years for the Liberal Party and retained the seat with a margin of 2.9 per cent at the 2022 election.

Broadbent also confirmed he opposed the Waratah Bay cable route.

“It was never an appropriate location for an industrial transmission route, and I’m pleased that view has now been recognised,” he said.

However, Broadbent rejects offshore power altogether, saying turbines could not exist without public subsidies.

“Offshore wind projects don’t stack up,” he said.

Bob Boelen at his home overlooking Waratah Bay. Credit: Justin McManus

Responsible Renewables member and Waratah Bay resident Bob Boelen said his group came out of “dormant mode” to fight Gippsland Skies’ plan to explore putting the connection cable through the bay and beach.

Boelen describes himself as a left-leaning voter who is unaffiliated with any political party. He supports renewable energy and accepts that another electricity cable, Marinus Link, will cross underground at Waratah Bay.

But Boelen said he felt an obligation to protect his beloved beach from the Gippsland Skies proposal. He feared the transmission cable and associated infrastructure would have interfered with the rich marine environment at Waratah Bay.

“There would have been massive disturbance,” he said.

Boelen praised Gippsland Skies for heeding the community’s concerns but said the election might have played a part in the company’s decision.

Monash MP Russell Broadbent is opposed to offshore wind on the Gippsland coast.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

He said his group had secured the opposition of Monash candidates to the Waratah Bay route option and then presented their positions to Gippsland Skies in community consultation sessions.

“The election certainly helped and put more pressure on the candidates.”

Gippsland Skies is among 12 operators granted feasibility licences to explore the viability of their proposed offshore wind projects on the Gippsland coast.

Independent candidate Deb Leonard, who has backing from progressive funding group Climate 200, said she was strongly opposed to transmission lines running through Waratah Bay.

Leonard said the fishing community was also concerned about impact of seismic testing on fishing stocks, and she was planning community consultation on the issue.

In past years there has been extensive seismic testing on the Gippsland coast, in which mapping companies deploy loud blasts to search the seabed for oil and gas.

Liberal MP Dan Tehan is opposed to plans for an offshore wind farm on the south-west coast. Credit: Joanne O’Keefe

Offshore wind has also proven contentious in the Wannon electorate, which stretches from Anglesea to the South Australian border. Liberal MP Dan Tehan, who holds the seat by 3.8 per cent, is promising to scrap the Southern Ocean Offshore Wind Zone.

He said the community was deeply concerned about the potential impact of offshore wind on whales, migratory seabirds, recreational fishing and tourism.

“Instead of offering more talking and government reports, I’m standing with my community right now and saying no to a massive offshore wind farm at Warrnambool and Port Fairy,” Tehan said.

There are no offshore wind farms operating in Victorian waters yet, but the federal government has granted a feasibility licence to one operator for its proposed project in the Southern Ocean off the coast from Warrnambool and Port Fairy.

Seismic blasting is also a hot issue in Wannon. At least one company is planning seismic testing in the Otway Basin.

Tehan did not oppose seismic testing for gas altogether, but insisted he did not support testing that threatens endangered species.

His main opponent is independent candidate Alex Dyson, who is backed by Climate 200. In a statement earlier this year Dyson called for a moratorium on seismic blasting, describing it as “dangerous and unnecessary”.

Independent candidate for Wannon Alex Dyson on the campaign trail. Credit: Joanne O’Keefe

But he stopped short of opposing offshore wind. Dyson said he would only support an offshore wind project if there were “real community benefits” and the community had been properly consulted.

Otway Coastal Environment Action Network founder Lisa Deppeler said voters cared deeply about the marine environment in Wannon. Her group wants all candidates to support a moratorium on seismic blasting.

“The coast is playing a big part in the Wannon election,” she said.

Monash University politics lecturer Dr Zareh Ghazarian said local environmental issues would figure significantly in the campaigns for both Wannon and Monash.

“I would expect the aesthetics and health of the environment, both marine and land, to be prominent in the thoughts and ambitions of voters,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Victorian government on Wednesday released the latest stage of its offshore wind strategy, which outlined delays and changes to its program.

It confirmed it was considering other ports, including interstate options in NSW and Tasmania, to construct wind turbines as it tries to overcome environmental hurdles that have delayed a renewable energy hub at the Port of Hastings until at least 2030.

With Kieran Rooney

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