The ongoing proposal to consider offshore gas drilling along Newcastle's coast where whales migrate annually, and within a few kilometres of our world-class beaches, is madness.
Prime Minister Morrison himself, along with most east-coast federal and state politicians all have said they don't support offshore gas along our eastern coast. So why has Resource Minister Keith Pitt not announced the end of PEP 11? Petroleum Exploration Permit 11 is a proposed ocean floor gas mining along the NSW Eastern coast. PEP 11 is primarily situated in Commonwealth waters off the NSW coast between Newcastle and Wollongong.
This part of our coast becomes a crucial home to tens of thousands of whales as they make the annual voyage north to mate and have their babies from April to November. This year marked the 22nd annual whale census, with our local headlands providing front seat views of these majestic creatures to hundreds of participants. The Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans (ORRCA) runs this whale census on the last weekend in June to count how many whales have visited us.
Here in Newcastle, we know what an incredible opportunity it is to witness such a fundamental process in these spectacular creatures' lifecycles, a joy shared by both locals and tourists alike. As a keen participant in the annual survey, however, I want our government to create stronger protections for whales and our coast, and I don't believe the laws that are meant to protect our environment currently suffice.
The Federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is significantly outdated, and a recent once in a 10-year independent review of the laws conclusively found it needs a major overhaul. It's likely this month the Morrison government will be asking the Senate to pass bills that only further water down environment laws. The independent reviews recommendations aren't being taken seriously, just like the government isn't taking environmental problems seriously enough. We need stronger laws for nature, including laws that would better protect our marine environment.
The important Whale Protection Act 1980 was replaced by the EPBC Act, and it is this law that governs the Australian Whale Sanctuary inclusive of the entire Commonwealth marine area. So how can offshore gas drilling still be acceptable in this context? The disturbances PEP 11 would create will have severe detrimental effects on our precious local marine environment, including from the building and ongoing presence of any offshore gas infrastructure in the ocean.
The whales who visit us yearly would likely find new pathways away from our coast. This would also create intergenerational confusion and disruption with the abandonment of traditional migration routes. The physical establishment of drilling platforms creates long-term implications including habitat fragmentation, chemical pollution, water quality degradation, and an increase in maritime traffic. It would wreak havoc in the delicate ocean marine ecosystem network like a violent riot in a CBD.
Of course, not only will our well known vibrant marine life suffer, but that means our local economy would also take a substantial hit. It's estimated that the whale watching months inject around $53 million annually into the Port Stephens tourism economy alone. Allowing PEP 11 to go ahead would be like a sporting team firing their own mascot.
This year's incredibly close proximity of the whales to our coastline was described by the ORRCA whale census vice president Jools Farrell as "very exciting", but this is also why PEP 11 must be stopped - the offshore gas venture will forever alter our unique witness of such creatures and impede the crucial whale migration routes.
