Hanson Young Norwegian oil company pulls the Pin on Oil Exploration in the Bight

Senator Hanson-Young Oil Exploration (South Australia): I move: That the Senate—(a) notes that:

 (i) Norwegian oil company Equinor has announced it is discontinuing its exploration drilling plans in the Great Australian Bight,

 (ii) this is an opportunity to celebrate the pristine and precious Great Australian Bight and to protect it for future generations and the rest of the world to come and experience,

 (iii) the Bight is ecologically and environmentally significant and home to some of the most unique wildlife in the world with 85% of marine life found in the Bight found nowhere else,

   (iv) Australia Institute Research has shown that more than 4 in 5 South Australians (84%) and 7 in 10 Australians want to see the Bight given World Heritage protection, and

   (v) in July 2018, the South Australian Parliament called on the state government to work with the federal government to seek listing under the World Heritage Convention of the waters, seabed and coastline of the Great Australian Bight as a matter of urgency; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to submit the Great Australian Bight for consideration as a World Heritage Site.

Hanson Young comments on Facebook Page

You would think a government would assess grant applications based on merit and need. Not this government.

Whether it's sporting or environmental grants to electorates they think they can buy at election time, or dishing out millions of dollars of taxpayer's money to a company founded by one of their own, the level of rorting and abuse of power and privilege by this government is extraordinary.