"The cost estimates of channel deepening have more than quadrupled since it was first announced," said Ms Pennicuik.

"The legal and financial arrangements between the Port of Melbourne Corporation - a state owned entity, and the dredging company Boskalis Australia Pty Ltd have not been made public. We have had to learn via the European stock exchange that Boskalis will be paid half a billion dollars to undertake the mega dredging project," she said.

"The PMC claims that it is costing it $250,000 every day that dredging is delayed. The public has a right to know what sort of unsatisfactory arrangement the PMC has entered into that allows monetary payments to a private company before the environmental approval processes are even completed," she said.

"We don't need channel deepening. The Port of Melbourne used to claim that 27 - 30% of ships cannot enter the Bay fully loaded. It has even used a figure as high as 43%. No credible evidence has ever been advanced for these assertions. Instead, the PMC’s own SEES states that only 3.8 per cent of ships leaving or entering Port Phillip Bay need any sort of tidal assistance. That means that 96% of ships do not require any assistance, or deeper channels, to enter or leave the Bay," she said.

"My motion to refer channel deepening to the Finance and Public Administration Committee will include, among other things:

an investigation into the cost estimates of the project provided by the Port of Melbourne Corporation (PMC) and reasons for the quadrupling of those estimates since the project was announced;

the legal and financial arrangements between the PMC and Boskalis Australia Pty Ltd and/or its parent company, Royal Boskalis Westminster NV;

the veracity of the figures used by the PMC regarding the number of ships that are currently, or projected to be, unable to enter and leave the Port of Melbourne loaded to their desired capacity;

an analysis of the projections of shipping size and volume and growth in container movements through the Port of Melbourne relied on by the Government and the PMC;

an analysis of the value to the Victorian and local economies of tourist and recreational businesses around Port Phillip Bay; and

a comparison of the costs and benefits to the Victorian community of channel deepening compared to alternative measures to accommodate larger vessels in Port Phillip Bay."

"I will also move a motion to introduce a private members bill to prevent toxic material that is proposed to be dredged from the Yarra River from being dumped in Port Phillip Bay, and to amend laws recently introduced by the state government which provide for the declaration of exclusion zones
during dredging. These zones are in addition to regular maritime safety zones, which have served the Port well for a hundred years and will be used to prevent the public from seeing first hand what is going on," she said.

The Greens are unconditionally opposed to channel deepening, because there is no demonstrated need for it, it risks potentially irreversible environmental damage to Port Phillip Bay, and because it will provide no economic benefits to the people of Victoria.

Further comment: Sue Pennicuik: 0407 000 270