Star of the South enters critical assessment phase

SOUTH Gippsland’s maritime sector is entering a critical period as independent panels and government bodies begin reviewing submissions for the region’s most ambitious renewable energy project.

Following the closure of a critical public consultation window, local stakeholders are ramping up advocacy to ensure Port Anthony secures its place as a permanent operations and maintenance base for the upcoming offshore wind boom.

The joint draft Commonwealth Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Victorian Environment Effects Statement (EES) for the pioneering Star of the South offshore wind project officially closed for public review on June 29, 2026.

The exhaustive consultation period, which opened on May 18, allowed community members, environmental groups, and industry figures to scrutinise the project's sweeping infrastructure plans.

The assessments cover crucial federal matters of national environmental significance alongside Victorian land-based transmission impacts. At the heart of local interest is how the project will utilise the coastal infrastructure around Corner Inlet, Barry Beach, and Port Anthony.

The proposed Victorian works include extensive underground cables situated in state waters roughly 5.5 kilometres offshore and spanning across land from Reeves Beach to the Latrobe Valley.

While state funding and heavy-duty construction designations have primarily centered on the Port of Hastings, South Gippsland Shire Council and local industry advocates are heavily championing Port Anthony’s unique, strategic advantages.

Rather than targeting massive, disruptive landscape redevelopments, the current positioning for Port Anthony focuses on long-term operations, maintenance support, and specialised logistics.

Industry analysts have noted that while Hastings may capture the heavy assembly and turbine manufacturing headlines, the true long-term economic engine for regional communities lies in the decades of daily operations and maintenance (O&M).

Port Anthony, alongside the neighbouring Barry Beach Marine Terminal, are perfectly positioned to capture this steady, high-value economic stream according to local advocates. "Heavy construction is a short-term sprint, but operations and maintenance are a thirty-year marathon," said local maritime logistics specialist Marcus Vance.

"Port Anthony has the geographical advantage, existing private investment, and a community ready to back it. It doesn’t need massive taxpayer-funded groundworks to start being useful right now."

The private facility is already proving its utility. Even without major capital infrastructure earthworks underway, Port Anthony remains actively involved in the early phases of the offshore wind rollout.

The port is currently staging vital minor project support, including hosting specialised geophysical survey vessels, managing technical crew transfers, and providing secure equipment storage.

Some locals argue this proving ground demonstrates that Port Anthony can seamlessly scale its operations. South Gippsland Shire Council has consistently lobbied state and federal governments to recognise and fund the complementary roles of smaller regional ports, ensuring that the economic windfall of the energy transition is distributed equitably across the Gippsland region.

The next steps in the approvals process are critical. Now that the June submission deadline has passed, an independent panel is tasked with sorting through the public feedback.

This process will culminate in formal assessment hearings, where environmental safeguards, community impacts, and port logistics will be thoroughly debated.

For Port Anthony, the upcoming hearings represent an opportunity to formalise its role in the Star of the South’s final plans. The ultimate state and federal decisions regarding project permits and commercial timelines will dictate exactly how, and when, local supply chains can begin hiring at scale.

Environmental protection remains a central talking point for the upcoming hearings.

Because the project interfaces with the sensitive marine environments of Corner Inlet, the EES and EIS documents have faced intense scrutiny. Proponents of Port Anthony point out that utilising an established, low-impact facility for O&M support minimises the need for destructive new coastal dredging or heavy industrial development in pristine areas.

As Victoria edges closer to its net-zero targets, the pressure to finalise approvals for the Star of the South is mounting. The project is poised to provide up to 2.2 gigawatts of clean energy, powering nearly 1.2 million Victorian homes.

For the communities of South Gippsland, however, the project represents more than just clean electrons flowing into the grid, it represents structural economic resilience.