Crib Point, Victoria
| Crib Point Melbourne, Victoria | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Entering Crib Point | |||||||||||||||
  Crib Point | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°21′47″S 145°12′07″E / 38.363°S 145.202°ECoordinates: 38°21′47″S 145°12′07″E / 38.363°S 145.202°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 2,839 (2011)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 451/km2 (1,167/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3919 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 6.3 km2 (2.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Mornington Peninsula | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Hastings | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Flinders | ||||||||||||||
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Crib Point is a town in Metropolitan Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia. It is part of the urban enclave on Western Port comprising Bittern, Crib Point, Hastings, Tyabb, and Somerville. Its local government area is the Shire of Mornington Peninsula.
Crib Point is served by three railway stations: Morradoo, Crib Point and Stony Point, the latter of which is the terminus of the greater-metropolitan Stony Point line.
Crib Point Post Office opened on 18 July 1890.[2]
The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League.
It is situated near the HMAS Cerberus naval base.
It is opposite a park that has a long stretch of mangroves.
The Victorian Maritime Centre is temporarily located at Crib Point. It has a future permanent site announced at Hastings. The museum houses many artefacts of both the Royal Australian Navy and the Merchant Navy. The Maritime Centre has the HMAS Otama, a former Oberon-class submarine, moored offshore, but it is not in condition suitable for visitor access.[3]
Internationally Significant Ramsar Listed Wetland and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve[edit]
Crib Point is one of the coastal villages of the Mornington Peninsula.[4] This coastline is part of the internationally significant Ramsar listed wetland which covers most of Westernport Bay - an area of 59,297ha.[5] It is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve - Western Port Biosphere Reserve.[6] Despite these two significant and critical attributes which mean it is fundamental to birdlife, fish breeding and many unique species, there has been unrelenting pressure to exploit this natural asset since the 60s. To this day, there are the remains of industry at Crib Point
The communities of Westernport have successfully fought off attempts to reindustrialise the area.
History:
- 1965 to 1985 – BP Westernport Refinery at Crib Point jetty
- 1987 - Proposed Western Mining ammonia-urea plant (STOPPED)
- 1992 - Proposed Shell-Mobil "super-tanker" project (STOPPED)
- 2007 - Proposed Boral Bitumen plant (STOPPED)
- 2011 - Port of Hastings Container Port strategy (STOPPED)
Threats to the Environment, Recreation and Liveability[edit]
Currently[when?], there is a proposal by AGL Energy to establish a terminal for importing gas - a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) - at Crib Point Jetty that would require the construction of a connecting 55 km pipeline (by APA) to Pakenham.[7]
The proposal has been met with fierce opposition from residents across the Mornington Peninsula, around Westernport and beyond as well as many environment groups (Save Westernport, Environment Victoria, Westernport and Peninsula Protection Council, Preserve Westernport, Victorian National Parks Association, The Wilderness Society, Southern Peninsula Indigenous Flora and Fauna Association and others). In the run up to the 2019 Federal Election, every candidate representing the Flinders seat stood with their constituents in stating "NO AGL".[8]
Community concerns include:
- threats to highly sensitive marine flora and fauna and fish breeding areas (seagrasses, unique southern mangroves, salt marshes)
- degradation of crucial migratory bird habitat including the critically endangered Far Eastern curlew (Federal - EPBC Act) among others (see also)
- devaluation of a natural asset
- damaged tourism sector and prevention of growth
- safety - risk of accident with the potential of ecological and/or human disaster
- increased emissions globally (liquefying and regasification process and shipping etc.)
- noise and light pollution - affects the health of both wildlife and humans living less than 1 km from gas terminal[9]
- threatens future sustainable industries and job growth
- pipeline route will destroy native vegetation, remove mature trees, disrupt Hastings township and cross Melbourne's foodbowl and prime agricultural land.
Through community efforts and due to the sensitivity of this critical wetland, the government announced that AGL have been required to undertake an Environment Effects Statement (EES).[10][11]
AGL Energy has not yet made a financial decision on the import gas proposal for Crib Point. Shortly after AGL submitted their EES to the State Government for adequacy, CEO Brett Redman urged the government to fast-track the approvals process to push their project forward during COVID-19 restrictions.[12] This is despite Mr Redman declaring that achieving social licence is one of his three top strategic priorities.[13]
Increasingly, LNG is no longer viewed as the clean transition fuel[14][15] to a green and sustainable future and governments are being urged to progress to cleaner energy to combat the climate crisis.[16]
Climate[edit]
Crib Point has an oceanic climate with relative small thermal differences between seasons, but is still prone to temperature extremes upon northerly winds both in summer and winter.
| Climate data for HMAS Cerberus (1991-2017 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 44.1 (111.4) |
45.8 (114.4) |
39.7 (103.5) |
34.1 (93.4) |
25.6 (78.1) |
21.7 (71.1) |
21.9 (71.4) |
25.1 (77.2) |
28.9 (84.0) |
34.7 (94.5) |
36.8 (98.2) |
42.4 (108.3) |
45.8 (114.4) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 24.5 (76.1) |
25.0 (77.0) |
23.1 (73.6) |
19.8 (67.6) |
16.6 (61.9) |
14.2 (57.6) |
13.6 (56.5) |
14.6 (58.3) |
16.5 (61.7) |
18.6 (65.5) |
20.6 (69.1) |
22.4 (72.3) |
19.1 (66.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) |
14.3 (57.7) |
12.6 (54.7) |
10.0 (50.0) |
8.4 (47.1) |
6.8 (44.2) |
6.3 (43.3) |
6.6 (43.9) |
7.6 (45.7) |
8.8 (47.8) |
10.7 (51.3) |
11.9 (53.4) |
9.8 (49.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 5.2 (41.4) |
5.0 (41.0) |
2.2 (36.0) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
−1.8 (28.8) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
1.6 (34.9) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 38.4 (1.51) |
39.4 (1.55) |
45.6 (1.80) |
62.4 (2.46) |
68.7 (2.70) |
72.3 (2.85) |
72.7 (2.86) |
75.2 (2.96) |
67.5 (2.66) |
66.8 (2.63) |
54.0 (2.13) |
53.6 (2.11) |
716.6 (28.22) |
| Source: [17] | |||||||||||||
References[edit]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crib Point, Victoria. |
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Crib Point (State)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
- ^ Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 13 March 2021
- ^ "Victorian Maritime Centre". Victorian Maritime Centre. Retrieved 26 August 2019. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
- ^ "Western Port Coastal Villages & Surrounding Settlements Strategy". www.mornpen.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment". Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "westernport ramsar listed wetland - Google Search". www.google.com. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ Planning (26 September 2019). "Crib Point: AGL APA gas import jetty and Crib Point – Pakenham gas pipeline". Planning. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Federal election battle for Greg Hunt's seat fires up over AGL's proposed gas terminal - ABC News". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Human Health". International Dark-Sky Association. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Gas delay an 'opportunity' - MPNEWSMPNEWS". Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "LNG import projects face delays as investors ponder Labor gas policy". Australian Financial Review. 4 February 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ Perkins, Nick Toscano, Miki (6 May 2020). "Victoria urged to halt AGL's floating gas terminal approval bid". The Age. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Brett Redman". Male Champions of Change. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "Research shows LNG bigger climate change threat than coal". Australian Financial Review. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Fossil fuel methane emissions have been 'vastly underestimated', researchers say". SBS News. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "Scientists sign open letter to Australian Government urging action on climate change - ABC News". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ "CERBERUS station information". Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 14 February 2018. CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
