PETITION SUBMITTED. 54,300 signatures! 

..and rising.

Today was the deadline for comments - so I have sent this petition to NOPSEMA along with my comment opposing Equinor's environmental plan to drill for oil in the Bight.

Petition - against this plan, and all seismic testing and oil drilling activities in the Great Australian Bight - with 54,300 signatures - as of 4:58pm 20/3/2019. - sent to information@nopsema.gov.au.

You can read my comments below:

Around 85 % of all the marine species that are found in the Bight occur nowhere else on the planet, and they need the delicate balance of this specific ecosystem to survive.

Drilling for oil, and the potential for spill, threatens the continued survival of wildlife and marine creatures in the Bight.

The Great Australian Bight is a vital home and breeding ground for southern right whales, endangered pygmy blue whales and southern blue-fin tuna. It’s an essential feeding ground for endangered sea lions, great white sharks, migratory sperm whales and many other species of marine animals.  It shelters Leafy Sea Dragons, seals, many species of sharks and dolphins.

Risks to the environment and the animals who live there far outweighs the economic gain, and temporary energy that fossil fuel provides.

Drilling itself, even without the extraction of fossil fuels is enough to upset the natural breeding, feeding and migration patterns of ocean life.

Constant human activity, and the removal of oil in the Bight will negatively affect these animals.

Whales in particular need very specific ecosystem. The Bight is an irreplaceable habitat for Whales. It is their breeding ground and they seek our waters for food and shelter while they raise their young. The annual migration of whales in the Bight waters happens during the cooler months, May to October, which is when they mate, give birth and nurse their calves.

Endangered species such as the Australian Sea lion live in the Bight. Australian Sea Lion numbers are at such low levels that the species is listed as ‘vulnerable’ under Australian law.

With a small population estimated at between 9000 - 14000 animals, the Wildlife Conservation Act of Western Australia (1950) has listed them as “in need of special protection”. Their Conservation status is listed as endangered.

Their population is already declining.

Drilling in the Bight threatens their survival. The Australian Sea Lion needs this unique habitat to be able to feed themselves, breed pups and live in their colonies.

The pollution created, the noise from human activity and changes to the ecosystem due to the drilling will be extremely damaging to these animals, and put them further at risk of extinction.

The plan for action in the face of an accident is totally inadequate to protect the Bight from irreversible damage.

Equinor has removed the most confronting images from the proposed environment plan and buried them in the appendix.

They describe using a “capping stack" – machinery that is designed to plug a major leak.

Equinor has conceded the capping stack would not be kept on site and would take 15 days to be transported from Singapore.

That would mean that oil would be flowing freely into the ocean for that 15 days.

To stop the well permanently (which took BP 149 days in the Gulf of Mexico — Equinor are guessing they could do it in 102 but there’s no supporting statistics to prove that estimate.

That 15 to 102 days would cause catastrophic damage to the ocean.

There's no effective action plan for how they're going to clean up an accident if it occurs.

No responsible regulator would approve the plan as it stands. The risks of spill, and damage to wildlife, the ecosystem, fisheries and endangered species is too great.

The Australian people are largely opposed to Equinor's plan to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight.

There have been mass protests and negative feedback from concerned citizens.

Many scientists, environmental experts, conservationists and representatives from fisheries and tourism have expressed strong opposition to the plan.

I have a petition - against this plan, and all seismic testing and oil drilling activities in the Great Australian Bight - with 54,300 signatures - as of 4:58pm 20/3/2019. - sent to information@nopsema.gov.au.

A copy is attached for your reference.

You can find the petition here online http://chng.it/Znj7c8bQRB

Comment reference number: 29935

Photo courtesy of Mermaid Mizuko. Australian Sea Lion.