Get the frack out of here
Equinor, a Norwegian company, have been given approval to begin drilling in the Great Australian Bight. Despite the protest from locals, environmental groups and countless Aussies across the country, the federal and South Australian governments have accepted the foreign company’s plans.
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) has provided the second approval required for Equinor to go ahead with the drilling. Wilderness Society South Australia director Peter Owen said, “We are gobsmacked that NOPSEMA could approve Equinor’s plan that experts have slammed.”
Mirning indigenous elder Bunna Lawrie, from the Nullarbor region, says he and his people have been carrying for the land, ocean and the whale nursery in the Bight for 120,000 years. He says “Equinor did not come to me and the elders, the traditional owners of that country … this is very disrespectful to us, none of these people came to talk to us about our country, and we are hurt by it. Because we love the whales, we love our country and we respect it.”
This will have devastating impacts on marine life and ecosystems. The machinery and sonar used by the oil company would interfere with the ability of marine mammals such as whales and dolphins to hunt and navigate, threatening their populations. The University of Sydney has also expressed concern that Equinor is “overconfident” about their ability to prevent a major oil spill and environmental catastrophe.
Is the government allowing a foreign company to exploit and endanger Australia? Should we be protecting our own people and wildlife over the profits of Norwegians?
There should be NO drilling in any waters around the coast of Australia. These companies can't predict underwater movements such as Earthquakes or Landmass movement. They should go and drill in their own waters, end of story!