Council
19 February, 2025
Dyson vows to abolish seismic testing if elected
INDEPENDENT candidate for Wannon Alex Dyson has backed calls on the Federal Government to introduce a moratorium on offshore seismic blasting for oil and gas exploration along the coastline of the Great Ocean Road.
Geo-technical company CGG plans to seismic blast an area of roughly 3000 square kilometres, 22 kilometres off the coast of Port Fairy, Warrnambool and Port Campbell.
The area sits next to Southern Right Whale calving grounds and near the Twelve Apostles Marine National Park.
CGG’s environmental plan for the project is currently sitting with the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) for approval.
Mr Dyson said seismic blasting and its impact on the marine environment is a key issue for coastal communities and local fishing industries.
“There is not one marine creature that isn’t impacted by seismic blasting, and this is happening on our doorstep right now,” he said.
“It’s an issue that our coastal communities deeply care about and have been persistently fighting for years.
“If elected, I will join Liberal MP Bridget Archer and support the move to abolish government policy that enables large scale frontier exploration.
“If our community’s voice is truly heard, then every project affecting our coast will be judged not only on its economic promise but on its environmental and social impact.”
Federal Member for Kooyong Monique Ryan tabled a bill in the House of Representatives to abolish Special Prospecting Authority (SPA) permits for seismic blasting in November 2024.
The bill was seconded by Liberal MP and Federal Member for Bass Bridget Archer and is likely to be debated after the federal election.
Otway Coastal Environment Action Network (OCEAN) spokesperson Lisa Deppeler called on the federal government to introduce an immediate moratorium on seismic blasting until recommendations of the senate inquiry Making Waves were enacted.
Making Waves: The Impact of Seismic Testing on Fisheries and the Marine Environment was published in June 2021 and listed 19 recommendations.
She said the regulator NOPSEMA has sent CGG’s environmental plan back to them three times because it didn’t satisfy requirements.
“It is a massive drain on the community to keep fighting and exposing the many problems in these seismic blasting proposals,” MS Deppeler said.
“But if we don’t stand up and take action, this will not end.
“We’re talking airgun blasts off the back of the ship that emit a deafening sound wave every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day for months on end.
“Everybody needs to know what’s happening in our ocean.”
Port Campbell commercial fisherman Simon Nash said the blasting took a devastating toll on his livelihood and mental health.
“These blasts have a catastrophic impact on the local fishery,” he said.
“They wipe out crayfish at every life stage, taking seven years for populations to recover.
“How can this destruction possibly be justified?”
Port Fairy Fight for the Bight campaigner Ben Druitt said seismic blasting had flown under the public radar for years because it is largely and conveniently invisible.
“When people hear what seismic blasting involves and the impacts on the marine environment, almost everybody opposes it,” he said.
“In recent years, thousands of people from Barwon Heads to Portland, including King Island, have worked together and successfully campaigned to stop seismic blasting proposals.
“We call on all Wannon candidates to support their communities and act decisively on the most urgent issue facing our coastline.”
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