Petition pushes shire to oppose Bight oil project

THE Surf Coast Shire is being pressed by some in the community to officially declare its opposition to the development of a deep-water oil field in the Great Australian Bight.

However, the shire will not do anything until the company behind the proposal releases an environmental plan.

Equinor holds two exploration permits in the Bight and has not yet started drilling, but a leaked “oil pollution emergency plan” from the company obtained by Greenpeace shows oil could be released into the ocean for more than 100 days in the event of a spill.

Outdoor clothing company Patagonia has been running a “Big Oil Don’t Surf” campaign against the drilling, stating it has independent modelling showing that in the worst case, an oil spill in winter would spread along the South Australian and Victorian coasts, circumnavigate Tasmania, before making its way up the eastern seaboard.

More than 320 people signed a petition requesting that the shire join a dozen other councils and formally request, in writing, a moratorium on all future oil and gas exploration in the Bight from the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management (NOPSEMA).

The shire received the petition at its November 27 meeting, which was packed full of the petition’s supporters.

During question time, 11 of the first 12 questions raised the issue, with Jack Perry’s question just one example.

“The surf industry has been the backbone of the local community for decades and would be devastated if an oil spill ever hit the beaches here,” he said.

“Will the council factor the economic consequences to the surf and tourism industries of a potential oil spill? You guys need to step up.”

Responding to all the questions, shire general manager of environment and development Ransce Salan said NOPSEMA must assess and accept an environment plan – which would be open for public comment – from Equinor for the proposed
exploratory drilling before it started, but “as at November 27, an environment plan has not yet been published on NOPSEMA’s website and council does not have a position on this matter”.

“Council will review the proposed environment plan once released for public comment and develop its position on this matter at that time, considering the potential environmental, social and economic impacts for the shire.”