Australian Greens environment spokesperson Senator Sarah Hanson-Young will bring her Private Member’s Bill to ban oil and gas drilling in the Great Australian Bight to the Senate for debate today.

Leaked documents from Equinor’s own oil spill data that show oil could reach Sydney beaches are a wake-up call to all Australians, the Greens say.

Calls for mass shark culls by conservative politicians would be an ineffective and irresponsible response to recent attacks in Queensland, according to the Australian Greens.

Queensland Senator Larissa Waters said a calm and sensible approach is needed and welcomed tomorrow’s roundtable on the issue in Airlie Beach.

“Our hearts go out to the families affected by recent shark attacks, but calls for mass shark culls are irresponsible, won’t work, and would not be supported by a majority of Queenslanders,” Senator Waters said.

Port Lincoln Council’s decision is a pivotal moment in the campaign to protect the Great Australian Bight, the Greens say.

The fossil fuels industry is spruiking an economic boon that would benefit them, not South Australians, if oil and gas drilling were to go ahead in the Great Australian Bight, the Australian Greens say.

“The fossil fuels industry wants drilling to go ahead because they are the ones who will profit – these multinational companies are seeking to risk the Great Australian Bight and send the profits offshore,” Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young said.

The Australian Greens have slammed the Labor and Liberal parties for rejecting the will of South Australians who want to see the Great Australian Bight World Heritage protected.

“The Labor and Liberal Parties have failed time and again to stand up for the Great Australian Bight and speak out against oil and gas drilling. If a spill happens in the Bight, oil will be on their hands,” Greens Senator for South Australia Sarah Hanson-Young said.