In a historic first in Australia, the NSW Parliament has just unanimously voted to pass legislation that bans all offshore oil and gas exploration and recovery in NSW waters – for good!

 

This legislation will prevent any oil and gas operators from exploring for fossil fuels within NSW waters. It also prevents any projects exploring within Commonwealth waters (*ahem* PEP-11) from building infrastructure that enables transportation through NSW waters and back to shore. That means no PEP-11 pipelines!

The bipartisan support for this legislation means that every NSW parliamentarian is in favour of it and won’t be looking to appeal or change it in the future – woohoo!

‘We know an overwhelming majority of people in NSW do not support offshore mining’, said Penny Sharpe, NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment.

‘The passage of this Bill will give certainty that our government is prioritising environmental protection and our own local interests’, she said.

This is a historic win for coastal communities up and down the NSW coast, environmentalists, and ocean advocates, like the crew at Surfers for Climate, who have worked tirelessly to ensure NSW’s beaches, marine wildlife, and waves are protected for good.

 

 

‘This is something our communities have long campaigned for and it is great to see it come to fruition’, said David Harris, Minister for the Central Coast.

Surfers for Climate is calling for all other states and territories to follow NSW’s lead and ban offshore oil and gas exploration in their waters, as well as for the Federal Government and Minister for Resources, Madeleine King, to stop PEP-11 and all oil and gas projects in Commonwealth oceans.

 

Feature image by @tim_ashelford

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Belangoloopy – Paddy Pallin Intro Rogain, NSW Rogaining

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