Offshore coal and gas exploration is threatening our coastal environment from Illawarra to Port Stephens. Join the Greens campaign to stop mining companies from threatening our beautiful coastline.
There are currently 3 licenses or applications for mining exploration off the NSW coast:
- wildcat gas drilling is set to commence for the existing Petroleum Exploration Permit (PEP 11) held by Bounty Oil and Gas and MEC Resources, - Sydney Marine Sand want to do sand mining exploration off the coast of Gosford, and - Energie Future Pty Ltd has applied to explore for coal deposits in the seabed off our coast, with a view to mining that coal using the highly experimental mining method of offshore underground coal gasification.
The Government should be assessing the cumulative environmental impact of these exploration licences on coastal waters of NSW, its impact on whale migration, marine life and potential pollution of our ocean and beaches. The Government should assess the cumulative environmental impact of the potential mining operations, assuming that they will go ahead, before considering any exploration licence applications, given that the granting of an exploration licence in NSW is merely the first stage of full scale mining.
The most pressing case is the coal exploration licence application advertised in the SMH by Energie Future Pty Ltd in September 2008. The Greens are protesting this application and raising public awareness about the potential threats and horrors of such a mining venture on the NSW coastline.
Some things are just too precious to risk. The Government should just say no, its off limits.
Write to local MPs Malcolm Turnbull and Peter Garrett and ask them to speak out! (scroll down to end of this page)
3 offshore exp licencs.jpg Left - map of the three mining explorations zones off the NSW coast. see full scale map (pdf)
A recently advertised mining exploration licence application that covers a 6,000km area from Sydneys Royal National Park to Port Stephens could result in major environmental damage to whale migration, marine life and the NSW coastline if the outcome of the exploration was a large offshore mining venture.
The potential environmental impacts of this offshore mining project are enormous. The 6,000 km exploration zone spans 135km of the NSW coast from the Royal National Park south of Sydney to Port Stephens.
If approved, exploration would come within a few kilometres of the coast in Sydneys far south, and at points along the Central Coast, Lake Macquarie and Stockton Bight.
Seismic testing used in exploration could disrupt whale migration along Australias east coast. This would have an immediate impact on tourism. If drilling platforms or offshore processing and handling terminals were eventually built in this zone they would be visible from the shore by the naked eye.
The risk of leaks and spills from the construction and operation of platforms, pipelines and shipping would be an ongoing threat to marine life and water quality at our beaches.
Where would the gas transfer and processing be done? The company Energie Future Pty Ltd advertised its application but has provided no information on its future plans.
This highly controversial and potentially damaging venture is off to a bad start, with the Government keeping the public in the dark about its full impact. The Greens will run a strong community campaign against any project that places corporate mining profits ahead of the marine ecology and tourism potential of the NSW coast. We regard exploration as the first stage in a full-scale mining operation. The onus is on Federal and State Resources Ministers Martin Ferguson and Ian Macdonald to reject this application. The Federal Minister has the final say.
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