Campaign to abolish seismic blasting permits reaches 15,000 letters

A CAMPAIGN urging the Australian government to abolish Special Prospecting Authority (SPA) permits for seismic blasting has reached a significant milestone, with 15,000 letters sent to federal resources minister Madeleine King.

The campaign calls for an end to SPA permits, which allow companies to conduct seismic blasting in large ocean areas to search for oil, gas, and carbon capture storage locations.

Minister King oversees the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA), which grants SPA permits and has the authority to refuse these permits.

The campaign argues that abolishing SPA permits would help protect endangered species, threatened marine habitats, and the livelihoods of communities dependent on healthy oceans.

The Australian Marine Conservation Society has been in Canberra this week, meeting with politicians from all parties to make the case for permit reform and scrapping what they consider to be the “worst of the worst” seismic blasting proposals which is currently planned for the Otway Basin.

Campaign manager Louise Morris said the permits needed to be abolished as they were an effective loophole for companies to fast-track approval for seismic blasting.

“These cowboy permits exist outside all the normal rules and regulations and oversight that other companies have to apply for,” Ms Morris said.

“We are allowing the worst of the worst seismic operators in our ocean to conduct these massive exploration proposals for more fossil fuel and increasingly carbon capture and storage.”

Ms Morris said the permits could easily be removed and companies could instead apply through the established offshore acreage release process.

Data firm TGS and energy company SLB are seeking a joint special prospecting permit from the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) to conduct blasting in the Otway Basin.

The community consultation process around the proposal has been criticised for failing to properly engage with the public, particularly First Nations communities.

The latest round of drop-in sessions is scheduled this month for Portland, Port Fairy, Warrnambool, and Apollo Bay, but none are scheduled for the Surf Coast.

The Surf Coast snubbing prompted Member for Corangamite Libby Coker to write to TGS and SLB, calling on the companies to host a consultation session in Torquay.

“On behalf of my community, I have written a letter to the proponents urging them to host a face-to-face consultation session in Torquay,” Ms Coker said.

“In light of the concerns of my community and the criticisms of the consultation methods employed so far, I have also called on the proponents to hold all sessions outside of working hours to ensure community members have the best opportunity to attend.”

TGS did not respond to a request for an interview prior to publication.