Could tighten gas supply and raise prices
Opponents said blocking exploration and future titles across multiple offshore basins would reduce future oil and gas supply, making energy and petrol more expensive and worsening cost-of-living pressure.
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Fight for Australia’s Coastline)
Current status
This bill did not become law and is no longer proceeding.
Policy area
Climate, energy & environment
What does this bill do?
Oil and gas exploration rights off Sydney and King Island would end two months after royal assentThe formal step that turns a passed bill into an Act, which starts the timetable for the bill's changes here., shutting down those two offshore permits on a set timetable.
Why was it introduced?
Acreage releases, pending PEP11The offshore exploration permit off Sydney that the bill seeks to cancel and block from further consideration. decisions and the King Island permit left offshore drilling concerns alive despite evidence that seismic testingA surveying method that uses loud sound pulses to map the sea floor and find possible oil and gas deposits. risks oceans and fisheries. The bill would cancel the Sydney and King Island permits, stop any Otway Basin application from being considered, and ban future offshore petroleum titles in those areas.
Broader context
Offshore petroleum laws still allowed permits and applications to stay alive off Sydney and King Island, while Otway Basin acreage remained vacant but open to future release. After the Morrison government announced in December 2021 that it intended to refuse the PEP11The offshore exploration permit off Sydney that the bill seeks to cancel and block from further consideration. renewal off Sydney, Senator Whish-Wilson’s 2022 bill sought to cancel the Sydney and King Island permits, stop any Otway Basin application from being considered and ban future titles in all three areas, but the Senate did not pass it and the bill lapsed in July 2025.
Key criticism
Critics argued the bill would use a blanket, project-specific ban to shut down offshore petroleum activity in several basins, risking lower gas supply, higher energy and fuel costs, and weaker investor confidence. These objections came from Labor and Coalition speakers in the Senate, who opposed the bill on energy security and regulatory certainty grounds rather than disputing local concern about PEPA legal title that lets a company search for oil or gas in a specified offshore area.-11 itself.
Who supported it?
Senator Peter Whish-Wilson introduced this bill. Speeches supporting it came from Greens, some crossbench members.
Introduced in Senate 04 Aug 2022
Failed in Senate 21 July 2025
Did not reach House —
Did not become law —
Did it become law?
No
The bill did not complete passage through Parliament.
Final passage
No final passage
The bill has not completed passage and is no longer proceeding.
Time before failure
1082 days
From introduction to the final recorded step before the bill stopped proceeding
Meaning
What does this bill do?
-
Oil and gas exploration rights off Sydney and King Island would end two months after royal assentThe formal step that turns a passed bill into an Act, which starts the timetable for the bill's changes here., shutting down those two offshore permits on a set timetable.
-
Because there was no Otway Basin permit to cancel, the bill would bar decision-makers from considering applications for that area.
-
Pending applications for the Sydney and King Island areas would be cut off, so ministers could not keep assessing proposals already on their desks.
-
Future offshore oil and gas titles across the Sydney Basin, King Island and Otway Basin would be blocked, including exploration, production, pipelines and scientific investigation approvals.
Show source excerpts
-
PEP11 and King Island cease to be in force two months after the Royal Assent to this Bill;
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Fight for Australia’s Coastline) explanatory memorandum -
with no permit to cancel, applications for the Otway Basin will simply be prohibited from consideration;
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Fight for Australia’s Coastline) explanatory memorandum -
the Joint Authority cannot consider or continue to consider an application for PEP11 or King Island including any that are currently before the Joint Authority;
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Fight for Australia’s Coastline) explanatory memorandum -
the Joint Authority or Titles Administrator cannot grant petroleum retention leases, petroleum exploration permits, petroleum special prospecting authorities, petroleum access authorities, petroleum production licenses, infrastructure licenses, pipeline licenses, and petroleum scientific investigation consents.
Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Fight for Australia’s Coastline) explanatory memorandum
Context
Broader context for this bill
Offshore petroleum laws still allowed permits and applications to stay alive off Sydney and King Island, while Otway Basin acreage remained vacant but open to future release. After the Morrison government announced in December 2021 that it intended to refuse the PEP11The offshore exploration permit off Sydney that the bill seeks to cancel and block from further consideration. renewal off Sydney, Senator Whish-Wilson’s 2022 bill sought to cancel the Sydney and King Island permits, stop any Otway Basin application from being considered and ban future titles in all three areas, but the Senate did not pass it and the bill lapsed in July 2025.
- 16 Dec 2021
Morrison government says it will refuse the PEP11The offshore exploration permit off Sydney that the bill seeks to cancel and block from further consideration. rollover off Sydney
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced steps toward refusing the application to renew Petroleum Exploration Permit 11The offshore exploration permit off Sydney that the bill seeks to cancel and block from further consideration., a proposal covering waters from Newcastle to Wollongong.
Australian Financial Review ↗ - 04 Aug 2022
Senator Whish-Wilson introduces the coastline protection bill
The bill was introduced to cancel PEP11The offshore exploration permit off Sydney that the bill seeks to cancel and block from further consideration. and the King Island permit, prohibit consideration of any V21-3The Otway Basin acreage area where the bill would stop any petroleum exploration permit application from being considered. application and prohibit future petroleum exploration or exploitation in all three areas.
Australian Parliament House ↗ - 09 Feb 2023
Senate debates whether to extend the ban beyond PEP11The offshore exploration permit off Sydney that the bill seeks to cancel and block from further consideration.
During second reading debate, senators argued over whether Parliament should go beyond opposition to PEP11The offshore exploration permit off Sydney that the bill seeks to cancel and block from further consideration. and impose the bill’s wider ban across the Sydney Basin, King Island and Otway Basin.
Hansard ↗ - 21 July 2025
Bill lapses at the end of Parliament
Because the bill lapsed without passing, its proposed cancellations and permanent offshore petroleum bans for the three areas never took legal effect.
Parliamentary timeline ↗
Legislative route
How did it move through Parliament?
House Senate
Introduced 04 Aug 2022
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
Introduced and read a first time
Second reading opened 04 Aug 2022
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
Second reading moved
Second reading debate 09 Feb 2023
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Lapsed at end of Parliament 21 July 2025
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
Key criticism
The main case against this bill
Critics argued the bill would use a blanket, project-specific ban to shut down offshore petroleum activity in several basins, risking lower gas supply, higher energy and fuel costs, and weaker investor confidence. These objections came from Labor and Coalition speakers in the Senate, who opposed the bill on energy security and regulatory certainty grounds rather than disputing local concern about PEPA legal title that lets a company search for oil or gas in a specified offshore area.-11 itself.
Criticism focused on energy supply and precedent, not on denying community concern about coastal impacts.
Sets a precedent for blocking named projects by law
Critics argued Parliament should not pass legislation aimed at stopping a specific offshore project or permit, warning that doing so would create a dangerous precedent for future approvals and politicise investment decisions.
Too blunt for the energy transition
Labor speakers said a blanket ban on offshore oil and gas was the wrong policy tool, arguing climate action should be managed through a broader, coordinated transition with environmental and emissions rules rather than one-off legislative bans.
Further sources
Votes
Recorded votes
No recorded votes were found before this bill stopped proceeding.
Parliamentary debate
Who spoke, and what they said
Start here — lead voices
Sponsor speech Supports
Peter Whish-Wilson
Whish-Wilson strongly supports the bill, saying it is needed to ban new offshore oil and gas exploration and protect oceans, fisheries, coastlines and communities from climate and seismic-testing risks.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead opposing voice Opposes
Karen Grogan
Grogan says Labor will not support the bill because a blanket ban on oil and gas is not the right way to manage the energy transition.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead supporting voice Supports
David Pocock
Pocock supports the bill and says it is needed to stop PEPA legal title that lets a company search for oil or gas in a specified offshore area.-11 and send a broader message that Australia should not keep opening new fossil fuel projects.
Read in Hansard ↗ Lead voice Opposes
Tim Ayres
Ayres says the government will oppose the bill because it would impose a broad ban on oil and gas exploration and development across eastern and southern Australia.
Read in Hansard ↗All speeches by bloc
Labor
2 speakers · 2 oppose
Labor
2 speakers · 2 oppose
-
Karen Grogan ★ Grogan says Labor will not support the bill because a blanket ban on oil and gas is not the right way to manage the energy transition.
“It's been very interesting to listen to the debate in this chamber this morning on the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Fight for Australia's Coastline) Bill 2022. Just to be really clear, we will not be placing a blanket ban on oil and gas tomorrow morning. This is not a responsible way to govern. We have stepped out a whole range of things on where we're going, but placing a ban on oil and gas tomorrow morning is not the answer. The transition to more sustainable energy sources needs to be done carefully. It needs to be done in a balanced way. It needs to be done responsibly. I think the eight months of this Labor government has shown that we are making significant progress after 10 long years of irresponsible action.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗ -
Tim Ayres ★ Ayres says the government will oppose the bill because it would impose a broad ban on oil and gas exploration and development across eastern and southern Australia.
“The government, of course, doesn't support the bill that is currently before the chamber. I want to come to PEP-11 in a moment but the coverage of the bill is much broader than PEP-11. It would apply to petroleum exploration leases right across eastern and southern Australia. It would have a profound effect on our $90 billion oil and gas sector. The proposition that his government would support a blanket ban on oil and gas exploration and development is completely utterly unacceptable to the government. I want to make a few comments about why then I want to come to the issue of PEP-11. I respect the fact that Senator Whish-Wilson not only had a number of other particular potential developments in mind in his own contribution today but also other matters that he's brought to the Senate in relation to some of these developments.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Coalition
2 speakers · 2 oppose
Coalition
2 speakers · 2 oppose
-
Susan McDonald Susan McDonald opposes the bill and says the government should not use legislation to block a specific project.
“I rise to oppose the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Amendment (Fight for Australia's Coastline) Bill 2022. I'm fascinated. I have just been listening to the contribution from Senator Ayres, which was all over the shop. I was hoping for a cohesive, logical debate about not supporting the bill, but instead he actually ended up supporting the bill by his comments. That's not very useful to me at all, but I guess you can expect nothing less of a very politicised government.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Greens
1 speaker · 2 contributions · 1 support
Greens
1 speaker · 2 contributions · 1 support
-
Peter Whish-Wilson ★ 2 contributions Whish-Wilson strongly supports the bill, saying it is needed to ban new offshore oil and gas exploration and protect oceans, fisheries, coastlines and communities from climate and seismic-testing risks.
Hansard records 2 separate contributions by Peter Whish-Wilson on this bill. They are grouped here so the speaker is listed once.
Second reading speech
Whish-Wilson strongly supports the bill, saying it is needed to ban new offshore oil and gas exploration and protect oceans, fisheries, coastlines and communities from climate and seismic-testing risks. He argues the government should match its own concerns about PEPA legal title that lets a company search for oil or gas in a specified offshore area. 11 by extending the ban more broadly.
“I urge all Senators to support this necessary bill to ban new offshore oil and gas exploration, I urge them to speak to marine biologists, climate scientists, coastal communities; their first nations elders, their fishers, those who care for the sea, they will tell you their way of life is under threat, and that their local economy relies on a thriving ocean, now increasingly broken by the burning of fossil fuels.”
Read this contribution in Hansard ↗Second reading speech
Whish-Wilson supports the bill and says it is a good start to stopping offshore oil and gas drilling that threatens coastlines, marine life and fishing communities. He argues it should make PEPA legal title that lets a company search for oil or gas in a specified offshore area.-11 and similar future proposals illegal so Australia can move faster away from fossil fuels.
“This bill we have before us here today is a good start. In supporting this bill we will be fighting not just for our coastlines, marine environments and fishing communities but will be supporting communities right around this country to actually transition, show leadership and do what we need to do.”
Read this contribution in Hansard ↗
Minor parties and independents
1 speaker · 1 support
Minor parties and independents
1 speaker · 1 support
-
David Pocock ★ Pocock supports the bill and says it is needed to stop PEPA legal title that lets a company search for oil or gas in a specified offshore area.-11 and send a broader message that Australia should not keep opening new fossil fuel projects.
“That was on the Central Coast. Here's a bill that will do that. Here's a bill that will respond to the millions of Australians who are concerned about climate change, the young people who are protesting and the young people who took the federal government to court, saying, 'You should be thinking about us when you make these sorts of laws'—the kind of bill that we're debating today. You can say to them: 'We hear you. You shouldn't have to protest. Politicians should be looking after your futures.' We have an opportunity today to do just that. I thank Senator Whish-Wilson for his leadership on this matter, and I will be supporting this bill.”
Read the full speech in Hansard ↗
Record
Full record
- Status
- Not Proceeding -- Collected from the APH bill page.
- Originating house
- Senate
- 04 Aug 2022
Senate · Introduced and read a first time
Introduced
The bill was formally presented to the chamber and read a first time, which starts its parliamentary journey.
- 04 Aug 2022
Senate · Second reading moved
Second reading opened
A minister or sponsoring member moved the second reading, opening the main debate on the bill's purpose and principles.
- 09 Feb 2023
Senate · Second reading debate
Second reading debate
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.
- 21 July 2025
Senate · Lapsed at end of Parliament
Lapsed at end of Parliament
The bill reached this recorded parliamentary step.