just what are the fairies........

......at the bottom of the garden up to this time?
Well might you ask.......

This morning's "Australian" has the answewr:

Seismic Ban Bid Shakes Explorers
By Nigel Wilson, Energy writer
Dateline: October 28, 2003

The Australian Democrats have sent shockwaves through the oil and gas industry by proposing legislative amendments that would ban seismic exploration in Commonwealth waters.

The Australian Petroleum Production Association immediately slammed the proposals, saying they would put offshore exploration in Australia out of business.

The Democrats' move comes just over a week after the Victorian Government announced it would not allow seismic exploration in the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park.

Victoria's Environment Minister John Thwaites said he was not satisfied the testing for offshore gas and oil would not harm marine life.

The decision prompted conservation and fishermen's groups to call for the ban to be extended to other areas under Victoria's control, including those now being prepared for exploration by Woodside and its partners seeking possible extensions to the Geographe and Thylacine gas discoveries in the offshore Otway Basin.

In federal parliament, Democrats' energy and resources spokeswoman Lyn Allison circulated amendments to the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Amendment Bill, which is being revised to include new occupational health and safety requirements.

Senator Allison's amendments broadly would prohibit seismic testing where it could affect matter protected by the Commonwealth's wide-ranging Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

The proviso is: "Unless there are no feasible and prudent alternatives and all reasonable measures to minimise the environmental impacts of the activity have been taken."

But, more importantly, the amendments seek to "prohibit all petroleum exploration and development activities in Commonwealth waters that are part of a World Heritage Area, Commonwealth Reserve, conservation zone, national heritage place, or Commonwealth heritage place".

Advisers to Senator Allison said last night these areas covered only a very small proportion of the Commonwealth marine area.

"These restrictions are unlikely to have a significant impact on petroleum development, but they will ensure our marine reserves are appropriately protected," one adviser said.

While the Democrats are concerned that the petroleum exploration industry still believes it should have access to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, they believe also that the EPBC Act is not being used to provide appropriate protection for marine reserves.

They cite the Twelve Apostles decision and advice from the Western Australian Environmental Protection Authority that petroleum exploration and development is incompatible with the Shark Bay World Heritage Area.

The Democrats face an uphill battle as the federal Opposition last night said it would not support the amendments.

Labor spokesman for resources Joel Fitzgibbon said that besides the implications for exploration, the occupational and safety changes proposed for the legislation were an inappropriate vehicle for attempting to propose further environmental controls on legislation that already had a strong conservation protection requirement.