People are being thrown out of their rented homes to make way for desal workers at hugely inflated rents. Do you know of anyone in this situation?

If so please ask them drop in and speak with a representative of the Tenants Union (confidentially) who will be at the Bass Coast Shire offices on Thursday 18th February (contact the shire on 56712222 or 1300 226278)

The local member of Parliament, Ken Smith, is also looking into this. He can be cotacted at his Wonthaggi office in McBride Ave. (again confidentially) 56724755, ken.smith@parliament.vic.gov.au

Or contact Jessica from Watershed on 0407 307231

PAST EVENT
FRIDAY 22nd January, 7.30pm, Wonthaggi Town Hall.

A GREAT time was had by around 250 people who attended the Watershed fundraiser show, “Bugger the Polar Bears - THIS IS SERIOUS”. As well as being hilariously funny, there was a fair bit of educational content as well.

Energy use of Melbourne’s Water Supply set to skyrocket!

A quick look at Melbourne Water’s current and future energy use reveals some concerning facts, especially in the light of the need to reduce electricity use and carbon emissions. By clicking the image below you will see a breakdown of current energy usage in all aspects of Melbourne Water’s activities. The energy usage of the desalination plant will mean we will be using at least three and a half times as much energy once Melbourne Water starts sourcing water from the desalination plant.

How much will it cost? - Dispite the State Government claiming $3.5 billion, the chairman of the company building and operating the plant says $ 4.8 billion, all from our water bills and taxes. This means water from the plant must cost at least five times what we get from Melbourne water now! (link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UsEFhl_DdI)

Letters! Letters! Letters!

Please help us create 

 a flood of letters…a deluge of letters!

Help us explain why the….

Desalination Contracts Must Not Be Signed!

The official government line is still that the final contracts with either Veolia/Connex or Degremont/Suez, to build the proposed desalination plant, are not yet signed, and may not be until after August, due to the global financial crisis. The complexity of signing a 30 year contract with a  global “water baron” such as Veolia/Connex or Degremont/Suez, could also be contributing to the delay.

But then again,  contracts could be signed any day now…..

So, we need everyone to take a deep breath, and write letters, letters, letters, preferably email, followed by hard copy (incl.fax), to flood our politicians desks.

Allied politicians and journalists have actually been listening to us, over the past 2 years. We just need them to do more, now, today! 

Cut and paste the proformas  provided at “letter ideas“, or below, write your own letter, or combine ours with yours…..you don’t need to understand all the issues, just express your outrage!

For up-to-date contact details for State and Federal politicians, go to

http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/mlas.html

http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/memlist.pdf  

All too hard? Then an easy way to start might be to go direct to the ‘Ask the Premier a question’ webpage, where you can put your details and a quick question to the man himself, just click the link below http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/component/option,com_forme/Itemid,61/fid,2/

For added inspiration, take another stroll along Williamsons Beach – you may see a seal riding the waves with the surfers, a whale swimming by, a stunning sunset, or all three!