Posted 1/5/08
D Day call for assistance from Blue Wedges!
Dear Supporters,
Thanks so much to all those who have already made submissions to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration. By now surely the message should be getting through that neither the PoMC nor Boskalis are to be trusted with our Bay.
To our surprise, either because we have swamped them with submissions, or because Mr. Brumby wants more of his mates to have a go, the closing date for submissions has been extended to 7th May. So - if you want to help stop this senseless project, please cut and past the pro forma letter below into an email to the Committee now. Or, since there is more time, a short letter with your main concerns in point form would be even more effective.
The Channel Deepening Project, and the so called “benefits” to be bestowed on us, are predicated on business as usual continuing on apace - and forever. It can’t of course – how can the current system of production, distribution, consumption and disposal survive in a world with finite resources?
Just to get you inspired, have a look at this really great Youtube on STUFF – where it comes from, why we buy it, and where it ends up (link below).
Then join us in saying there must be a better way! Personally, I’m going to send the STUFF link to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration as part of my new submission on the PoMC’s business case.
I’m going to make the point that the PoMC is relying on our irreplaceable, scarce and jointly owned resources to gamble on a future which most rational people can see is not going to pan out the way the PoMC is hoping. Aside from running out of resources to keep manufacturing all the stuff to put into the containers to get shipped all around the world, what ship operator is going to want to sail from Asia (our biggest trading partner) all the way to the Melbourne (almost twice as far as ports such as Brisbane or Darwin) when oil keeps going up and up in price (and gets more and more scarce)?
For the PoMC’s plans to work out their way, we would need unlimited availability of everything from steel and wood, to grain, to oil - and all at rock bottom prices – something we are not likely to ever see again! And we would need shippers to lock themselves in to always doing business with the PoMC at the expanding rate PoMC hopes will happen. The shipping industry has a long history of doing exactly what suits IT best - not the nations or the ports they choose to visit.
The story of STUFF: http://www.storyofstuff.org/
Cheers,
Blue Wedges Editor
NB. NEW EXTENDED DEADLINE IS WEDNESDAY 7th MAY, by close of business
And, another way to keep the pressure on Brumby: We still have a few of the very popular red and white placards such as 'This family says NO to dredging' Why not visit www.bluewedges.org to order one for your fence?
The Secretary
Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration
Legislative Council
Parliament of Victoria
Spring St.
Melbourne 3000
richard.willis@parliament.vic.gov.au
Re: Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening
Dear Mr. Willis
I understand the closing date for submissions to the committee has been extended to 7th May, so thank you for the opportunity to put my views.
As shareholders of the Port of Melbourne Corporation (PoMC), taxpayers are entitled to a more rigorous analysis of the case for channel deepening (CDP) than provided by PoMC. The business case should include a realistic examination of the costs/benefits for all taxpayers but PoMC’s business case relies on an outmoded economic framework which is no longer applicable in the 21st Century.
The costs of losing or damaging the range of services presently provided by the Bay for free have been excluded from the economic modelling and decision making. PoMC has relied on a ‘business as usual’ mindset, projecting steady growth into the future. There is no lack of learned opinion that we can no longer subscribe to the business as usual mindset.
Estimating ‘net present value’ (NPV) in 2007, PoMC used a cost figure of $590m. Costs are now almost $1 billion so the claimed benefits have diminished substantially. PoMC is advocating benefits based on cost reductions flowing to end users, whilst also introducing a container levy. End users will not benefit as importers and exporters costs have already increased via the levy, leaving no savings to pass on.
To achieve its benefit/cost ratio of 3.3, PoMC used the gross benefit figure of $1.936 billion not the net benefit, and divided it by the total cost estimate less the ‘sunk’ costs already spent. PoMC also fails to point out that only one third of the economic benefit flows to Victorian interests.
Using the more conservative and realistic assumptions below, the NPV is reduced to minus $540 million:
On these conservative figures, this is a dis-benefit to Victorians. Clearly the project is already unjustifiable, even before any more costs blow-outs occur.
I also have grave concerns about the Alliance between PoMC and Boskalis. During the SEES Inquiry Boskalis executives said they are now very aware of their responsibilities and had never breached any standards, claiming “zero incidents with environmental impact”. Boskalis failed to mention incidents where standards MUST have been breached, such as the sinking of a Boskalis dredge in Ponte Noir, Republic of Congo in 2006, where 3 people lost their lives, and the collision of Boskalis dredge Fairway in the port of Tianjin China in March 2007, resulting in the dredge being written off. Boskalis is also a joint venture partner in the controversial Jurong Islands project where sand has been illegally taken from Indonesia for land reclamation projects in Singapore.
The secrecy surrounding the Alliance between Boskalis and PoMC must be investigated, otherwise Victorian taxpayers may be exposed to unlimited loss and our priceless Bay may be damaged irretrievably. It is noteworthy that both Boskalis and James Hardie Industries have their headquarters in The Netherlands, so in the event of any compensation claims against Boskalis, like the asbestos victims, many Victorians may face insurmountable difficulties in obtaining justice.
Yours sincerely,
Name:
Address:
Date: