Port Lincoln Council delays vote on motion opposing oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Great Australian Bight

PORT Lincoln Council has delayed a vote to ban oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Great Australian Bight.

PORT Lincoln Council has delayed a vote to ban oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Great Australian Bight.

Councillor Andrea Broadfoot proposed the motion which, if successful, would have been passed on to both the State and Federal Governments as well as oil and gas exploration licence holders.

The motion was held at a meeting on Monday and will be subject to a special meeting of the council and public forum.

The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority and Norwegian energy company Equinor would also have been notified of the council’s blanket opposition if the motion succeeded

Sea lions on Pearson Island marine reserve in the Great Australian Bight. Picture: Simon Ager / Sea Shepherd

Port Lincoln Council chief executive Stephen Rufus proposed in the notice of motion that the council should delay the matter to collect further information and open the motion up to public consultation.

In May, Federal Minister for Resources Matthew Canavan announced a new area of The Bight would be opened up for oil and gas exploration.

The move incensed local environmental groups as well as Greenpeace who have thrown their weight behind the campaign to prevent exploration and drilling in The Bight.

Nine South Australian councils have already formally opposed moves to drill in the Bight.