Opened the debate
Hanson-Young argued that the bill was necessary to provide permanent protection for the Great Australian Bight against offshore oil and gas exploration. Hanson-Young stated that the region supports unique marine life, including southern right whales and sea lions, with eighty-five percent of species found nowhere else on Earth. The senator cited modelling indicating that an oil spill would devastate marine reserves, kill hundreds of thousands of seabirds, and harm coastal wetlands. Hanson-Young emphasized that the Bight supports over ten thousand jobs in fishing and tourism, industries that would suffer irreversible damage from drilling. Hanson-Young noted that Traditional Owners and more than two-thirds of South Australians oppose such developments. Hanson-Young urged other parties to support the bill to prevent climate change impacts and protect the coastline from future risks.