Northside Living: Federal minister rejects PEP-11

After four years of campaigning, a permit to allow mining of the waters off the Northern Beaches has been rejected.

Federal Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic, made his recommendation of refusal to the joint state-federal authority tasked with assessing off-shore mining permits, which the authority agreed with on 17 January. Asset Energy has been seeking an extension of its Petroleum Export Permit 11 (PEP-11) for four years, to enable it to explore for oil and gas in the waters from Manly to Newcastle.

There has been strong community opposition to the permit, with Independent Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby integral to the state push to legislate against use of any infrastructure in NSW waters for mining companies, before she was elected.

“It has truly been a community effort – from paddle outs to petitions, and political pressure at both state and federal levels,” Ms Scruby said.

“Thanks to everyone’s efforts, we’ve successfully protected our beaches and way of life. We can all be proud of what we’ve achieved by working together and across political party lines to get this done.”

Read the full article here: No off-shore mining for Beaches - Northside Living