A Seismic Success …?
Back in March we asked you to stand up and say no to oil and gas exploration off the southern coast of Australia, we asked you to help save critical habitat for a plethora of species including the mighty blue whale and … you’ve done it.
The Problem – Bight Petroleum submitted an application to the Australian Government to conduct a seismic survey in an area of critical importance for marine species. WDC and other groups did not believe that an appropriate environmental assessment as to the impacts this work would have had been made and lobbied the Australian Government to reject the proposal on the grounds that it posed unacceptable risks to the marine environment.
The Update – Today, the Australian Minister for the Environment, The Hon. Tony Burke MP, announced that Bight Petroleum’s proposal will have to go through a “full federal environmental assessment … to ensure it does not pose any unacceptable risk to our oceans”. WDC welcomes this decision.
Although not an outright rejection of the proposal, this is still a victory given the call for greater scrutiny as to the impacts of the proposed survey, and for helping it become such … we thank you!
A full statement from The Hon. Tony Burke can be found here.
