The Great Australian Bight is an environmental treasure of national and international significance, but a range of fossil fuel companies hold petroleum licences in the Bight and hope to drill for billions of barrels of oil and gas in the region.
Allowing companies to drill for oil in the Bight would accelerate global warming by further increasing Australia’s carbon emissions, endanger an essential marine ecosystem that acts as one of the most important whale sanctuaries in the world and put tourism, aquaculture and fisheries jobs at risk.
Through our research The Australia Institute has shown that the environmental, economic and climate impacts of opening up a new fossil fuel frontier in the Bight simply don't stack up:
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Oil in the Great Australian Bight: Comparative report on employment potential
A catastrophic oil spill in the Bight would put more than 27,000 jobs at risk and nearly two in three Australians (65%) think drilling in the Bight would have a negative effect on the environment
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Norwegian cheque: Who profits from oil in the Bight?
South Australia stood to gain 27 times less than the Norwegian government, financially, if drilling was allowed to proceed
- More than 7 in 10 Australians and 4 in 5 South Australians want to see the Bight given World Heritage protection
BP, Chevron and now Equinor have all abandoned their plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight, but other companies still hold exploration leases in the area. If you want to see the Great Australian Bight protected for future generations, add your name to the petition asking the Australian Parliament to legislate to protect the Bight from oil drilling and to officially begin the process of declaring the area a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
