17th Jun 2020, 4:00 PM – Senate Motions - Oil Exploration - Protect Ningaloo Reef, Shark Bay, and the Exmouth Gulf

The majority voted against a motion introduced by WA Senator Rachel Siewert (Greens), which means it failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that, as part of the acreage release process, the Government is asking industry to nominate areas they are interested in for oil and gas exploration around Ningaloo Reef, Shark Bay, and the Exmouth Gulf;

(b) acknowledges that:

(i) the Exmouth Gulf is a rare and precious estuarine system and crucial to the health of the World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef,

(ii) Ningaloo Reef is one of the world's last healthy coral reefs and is home to humpback whales, whale sharks, dugongs, sawfish, turtles, and seagrass,

(iii) Shark Bay is World Heritage listed, satisfying all four criteria for natural heritage values, and is home to stromatolites which are among the oldest forms of life on earth,

(iv) any seismic exploration and drilling could have a devastating environmental impact on these areas, and

(v) areas south of the Pilbara are too environmentally sensitive to risk; and

(c) calls on the Federal Government to remove Ningaloo Reef, Shark Bay, and the Exmouth Gulf from the acreage release process.