Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the report of the Environment and Communications References Committee on its inquiry into oil or gas production in the Great Australian Bight, together with the Hansard record of proceedings and documents presented to the committee.

Ordered that the report be printed.

I would like to speak to the motion and other senators would like to.

Gavin Marshall (Victoria, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You can start. We have a few minutes until four.

Cory Bernardi (SA, Australian Conservatives) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You can speak for two minutes and then seek leave to continue later.

Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I heard that. Thank you, Senator Bernardi, for your wise guidance across the chamber!

I have been to the Great Australian Bight. I have been surfing at Cactus Beach and I am very fond of that place. It has a reputation; nevertheless, it is a very good beach. I know the Great Australian Bight from the work I did on marine protected areas before I came into parliament. It is an absolutely stunning, pristine part of this country that is home to a very productive marine environment, including one of the biggest whale sanctuaries on the planet, where we have very important calving grounds for our southern right whales on their way to the Southern Ocean, where they feed on krill every year, give birth to their calves and then start the journey all over again.

This is not an area that we want to see opened up to oil and gas exploitation, especially oil and gas exploitation that is being driven by a tax system that we have in place in this country—the tail wagging the dog, the petroleum resource rent tax, that allows a company like Chevron to write off their tax deductions against their other projects on the North West Shelf. I asked Shell and BHP two weeks ago why they are not exploring the Great Australian Bight. Senator Back, you might be interested. They said that they have had a look at it; it is too high risk and too expensive to develop.

Debate interrupted.