The ocean has been a saving grace for many of us during lockdown, whether it’s ocean swimming across Cabbage Tree Bay, having an early morning surf, or even a quick dip to enliven our spirits. The saltwater offers us something beyond working from home, home schooling our kids or endless Zoom meetings. It offers an escape and the ability to refresh. But our pristine ocean could be under threat if the Morrison Government allows a permit for oil and gas drilling to go ahead.
The permit is known as PEP11 and would allow oil and gas exploration within 4,575 square kilometres of ocean, just offshore from Manly Beach, up through the Central Coast to Newcastle. If allowed, we could be swimming, surfing, or snorkelling with a gas rig on the horizon.
On your next ocean swim spare a moment and imagine the consequences of oil and gas drilling going badly. Many of you will have seen the images of undersea gas pipelines on fire in the Gulf of Mexico recently or even remember when the Deepwater Horizon was spewing toxic oil, also across the Gulf of Mexico a decade ago. The clean-up for Deepwater Horizon was in the billions. Millions were affected and animals perished or were poisoned by slicks of oil stretching kilometres. Similarly, the consequences of a disaster off the coast of Sydney would be catastrophic, threatening livelihoods and the environment.
The permit should also not go ahead for the sake of the climate. Oil and gas extraction, and subsequent greenhouse gas emissions are fuelling the climate crisis we are facing. Just this year, the International Energy Agency stated that no new fossil fuel projects can proceed if we are to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This is a goal the Coalition Government has stated its ‘preference’ towards. Yet if the Coalition are serious about decarbonising and getting to net zero by 2050, PEP11 must be cancelled.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have released a report that sets out the world is warming ten years faster than expected. We may yet breach 1.5°C sooner than expected and be ever closer to triggering irreversible tipping points. Any increase in temperature means exponentially more extreme weather events.
An application for a four-year extension to PEP11 is yet to be decided by the Water and Resources Minister, Nationals MP Keith Pitt, who says he is still deliberating on whether to extend the permit even though NSW National MP and Deputy Premier John Barilaro doesn’t support it. Minister Pitt has been ‘considering’ these applications for over 308 days.
Communities on the coast are sick of the uncertainty and are desperate for a resolution.
I say it is time to end the wait. That is why I am introducing a Bill into Parliament in October. The Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Stopping PEP11) Bill 2021 will cancel
PEP 11 once and for all.
For the MPs who have come out against this project including Jason Falinksi, Lucy Wicks, Trent Zimmerman and Dave Sharma, this Bill is their opportunity to put an end to this diabolical proposal. Cancelling PEP11 is above politics and in the public’s interest.
A number of high-profile surfers, Layne Beachley AO, Ace Buchan, Belinda Baggs, the legendary Tom Carroll, and the Surfrider Foundation Australia have joined me and supported the Bill, knowing this project could destroy marine ecosystems. With theirs and your support, PEP11 will be an idea whose time has come. This Bill is for our ocean and everyone who seeks refuge, respite and recreation within it.
To view the PEP11 Bill, go to my website www.zalisteggall.com.au