By Jena Carr
Ocean Grove, Torquay and other coastal communities have won the fight against a proposed seismic blasting project in the Otway Basin.
Energy data and intelligence company TGS withdrew its application for the project on Thursday, September 26, following community rallies, marches, paddle outs and other events.
Otway Coastal Environment Action Network (OCEAN) campaigner Mitch Pope said it was “pretty surreal” to hear that TGS was withdrawing its application for the project.
“By the community and people coming together, we created that power to stand up for our coastline and oceans and protect the places we love,” he said.
“It’s been over two years since TGS first announced their plans of what was originally 7.7 million hectares of an area that they planned to seismic blast to search for gas.
“We love seeing whales migrate past our shores in Ocean Grove every year. That (seismic blasting) would have impacted those species and people being able to see them.
“It shows that communities down here don’t want new fossil fuel projects in our oceans, and we hope that companies looking to do that in the future, will understand what they’re up against.”
The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority knocked back the project’s environmental plan multiple times for failing to consult with affected stakeholders and not considering the impacts on marine life.
Surfrider Foundation Surf Coast branch secretary Darren Noyes-Brown said the withdrawal showed the community’s power and that “incredible wins for the environment don’t happen by themselves”.
“I want to surf on this coastline for the rest of my life, and we want our kids to be able to do the same,” he said.
“It’s time we think about permanently protecting pristine places like the Great Ocean Road and the Southern Ocean so our kids don’t have to put up the same fight.
“My community of Torquay had everything to lose if this went ahead as it became clear TGS wasn’t able to meet even the basic requirements that would mitigate the impacts of seismic blasting.”
