Why the Great Australian Bight needs World Heritage protection

The Great Australian Bight: home to a unique collection of marine life with more than 85% of its species not found anywhere else in the world. We should do everything in our power to protect it, right?

Apparently not.

Norwegian energy company Equinor believes The Great Australian Bight is one of ‘Australia’s largest untapped oil reserves’. Equinor must clear four regulatory hurdles before it can start drilling. In December 2019 it cleared the second – and most significant – one. If this continues, drilling will begin in late 2020.

This is a no brainer. We must stop this. Permanently.

The Bight is one of the last untouched wonders of our world. Stretching nearly 3,800 kilometres, it is home to the largest population of Southern Right Whales on earth, as well as countless other flora and fauna found nowhere else on this planet.

Drilling brings with it the obvious potential for oil spillage that could devastate this marine sanctuary. But it doesn’t end there.

An oil spill could destroy beach communities, fisheries and tourism. And, if tapped and burned, the oil in the Bight would single-handedly obliterate Australia’s carbon dioxide emissions budget.

There is already more tapped oil in the world than it can afford to burn without destroying our liveable climate. Why risk dangerous deep-water drilling in this pristine marine ecosystem?
We must fight to protect the Great Australian Bight with the World Heritage listing it deserves. Permits must be cancelled, and Australia’s Bight must be fully protected from the fossil fuel industry.

Join our fight and sign our petition now.

Sign the petition to award the Great Australian Bight World Heritage protection​

Dear Minister,

The ecological and environmental significance of the Great Australian Bight is too precious to lose.

It is crucial – now more than ever before – not to exploit this pristine ocean for more dangerous fossil fuels.

I call on you to provide permanent protection for the Bight from risky oil drilling by awarding it World Heritage listing.

Thank you for your time.

Yours faithfully,

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