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Former Corangamite MP \u2013 now Victorian Liberal Senator \u2013 Sarah Henderson deemed the issue so toxic she defied her party and attended the anti-Equinor Torquay paddle out protest during the 2019 federal election campaign.<\/p>\n
Liberal candidate for Corangamite Stephanie Asher will similarly face questions about her party\u2019s policies while she tries to dislodge Labor\u2019s Libby Coker.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to use this as an opportunity to see real action in protecting our coastline, there\u2019s just way too much to risk if we don\u2019t. Anything from global warming and climate impacts to risks of a spill, it\u2019s just not worth it,\u201d Ms Baggs said of the pending federal election.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s also shaping up as problematic for the renewables-focused Andrews Labor Government, itself facing an election later this year, as it\u2019s backing development of the Otway Basin areas and shares both licencing and regulatory approval for the sites with the federal government.<\/p>\n
There are now two Greens bills seeking to stop the new oil and gas projects: one lodged in the Victorian parliament last week, and the other tabled in the federal Senate last year but expected to languish until after the election with only three more Senate sitting days before the nation goes to the polls.<\/p>\n
The Victorian bill seeks to leapfrog off a recent NSW government decision that will reject pending or future applications for commercial offshore exploration and mining, a policy designed to protect the state\u2019s coastline.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always like to start politely, having civil conversations with MPs,\u201d Ms Baggs said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese conversations then might morph into paddle outs, protests, we\u2019ll do what we have to protect these places that we love.\u201d<\/p>\n
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OIL and gas projects off the Great Ocean Road are again building into a controversial election issue, with state and federal governments in the sights of surfers and concerned coast watchers. The Morrison Government opened up a series of new oil and gas exploration fields off the Australian coast last year, including by the Twelve […]<\/p>\n