Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) on 21 August 2009, the Montara wellhead platform drill rig owned by PTTEP Australasia suffered a wellhead accident, resulting in the uncontrolled discharge of oil and gas until 3 November 2009, a total of 74 days,

(ii) the resultant oil spill flowed into Indonesian waters to a 'significant degree', a fact acknowledged by the Montara Commission of Inquiry in 2010,

(iii) the impact of the spill outside of Australian waters was not assessed and no comprehensive study has been carried out to date,

(iv) there is a great deal of concern in communities in the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara, particularly among fishers and seaweed farmers, That the spill has adversely affected fisheries and seaweed farms – there are credible preliminary reports available validating communities' concerns,

(v) communities affected have yet to receive any compensation for their loss of livelihood, and

(vi) East Nusa Tenggara is already ranked among the top five priority provinces of the Australian aid program in Indonesia; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) review the need for an independent study into reported damage in East Nusa Tenggara, and

(ii) liaise with the victims represented by East Nusa Tenggara provincial governments and their agents, the Indonesian Government and PTTEP, with the objective of setting up an effective working group to progress the matter, and to include representatives of these parties and the Commonwealth.

Question negatived.