Montara Commission told: environmental control of rigs and platforms in Timor Sea not good enough |
First 9 of 9 paragraphs shown The Australian Marine Conservation Society called for Government to set a moratorium over further oil and gas exploration and new production until the current marine bioregional planning process is complete. In the north the sole protected area was Ashmore Island. Why was it so secret? Darren Kindleysides Director, Australian Marine Conservation Society During the Montara incident there was extremely limited public information released about the extent and impacts of the oil spill. Rig cowboys rule the seas? Kindleysides argued as “Environmental monitoring in the Timor Sea during the uncontrolled release was inadequate; and public reporting was also inadequate, policy changes were essential. High public interest, but low info access: Kindleysides asked for - results of the scientific monitoring program made publicly available on a formal and regular basis; with - a formal timetable for reporting...detailing the frequency of reporting and what the reporting will cover. Woefully under-protected: “The Montara incident occurred in a part of Australia’s Exclusive Economic Zone that is currently woefully under-protected in terms of the lack of a comprehensive, adequate and representative system of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). 99 per cent of area has no rules: Kindleysides said another isues was “Less than 1pc of the oceans to the North and West of Australia was protected within MPAs. In other words, 99pc remain open for development. The Montara incident underlines the need to ensure Australias marine biodiversity is afforded better protection. The extent of this incident, its uncontrolled nature and the long time lag in stopping the release of hydrocarbons from the well head underlines that there is inherent risk in the extraction of oil and gas reserves in the marine environment?. ...Log in to read rest of Article or image. |