Tuesday, 5 March 2024

Oil and gas exploration

Katherine COPSEY (Southern Metropolitan) (02:11): (748) My adjournment this evening is to the Minister for Energy and Resources, and I seek that she bans offshore drilling for fossil gas and oil. Climate change presents a direct risk to coastal communities who are on the front line of the crisis. The Port Phillip Bay coastal hazard assessment, which finally surfaced last month, showed just how many homes, businesses, public facilities and natural habitats are under risk from inundation as sea levels continue to rise. Even insurance companies got the memo, with premiums skyrocketing and some properties at risk of becoming effectively uninsurable. We have also seen the effects of the global warming crisis in the increased hot and dry weather in recent weeks contributing to heat stress for many Victorians, and we are also seeing disasters grow worse and more frequent, such as bushfires.

The New South Wales government is showing actual leadership on this issue and has recently moved legislation to ban offshore gas and oil drilling, but the Allan Labor government has so far failed to act and shamefully is still allowing seismic blasting to search for new oil and gas fields in Victoria’s pristine Southern Ocean. This seismic blasting is damaging enough to marine ecosystems in its own right, but seeking to burn more fossil fuels during a climate crisis is ridiculous. Minister, it is time to start walking the walk on climate action. The action I seek is that you ban offshore drilling in Victoria’s oceans.