From Newcastle to the Northern Beaches, surfers, fishers and families spent years fighting to keep oil and gas rigs off their coast. Surfers for Climate CEO Josh Kirkman says One Nation's pledge to lift the NSW ban on offshore exploration and back the PEP-11 gas project would drag those communities back into a fight they've already won.
NSW One Nation leader Mike Newman told The Australian the party "won't stand in the way" of PEP-11 and "would certainly lift bans on exploration in NSW" if it wins power at the March state election.
"Ask anyone who surfs, fishes, or just walks their dog along the beaches between Newcastle and Manly whether they want gas rigs off their beach. The answer hasn't changed," Mr Kirkman said.
"These communities spent years getting PEP-11 off the table, and they won. Now One Nation wants to make them fight it all over again? Madness."
Mr Kirkman said keeping rigs off the NSW coast had been backed on both sides of politics. PEP-11 was first refused under a Liberal prime minister, the Commonwealth refused it again in January 2025, and the NSW Parliament banned offshore oil and gas exploration in state waters in 2024.
"Scott Morrison killed PEP-11. The Albanese Government knocked it back again. And the NSW Parliament, in an exceptional showing of bipartisanship, banned offshore sea mining and exploration. Keeping rigs off this coast has had support across party lines, and now One Nation is looking backwards on energy."
One Nation has pitched more gas as the answer to rising power prices. Mr Kirkman said offshore exploration would do nothing for household bills in the time frame that matters.
"If the worry is power bills, and it should be, offshore exploration won't bring them down. It takes years before anything comes out of the ground, and even then, gas prices fluctuate, and ultimately dictate the electricity price.
"What's bringing bills down right now is already on some people's roofs and in their garages: solar, home batteries and EVs. They cut costs for households and keep money in local communities."
Surfers for Climate is calling on all politicians who supported the ban on offshore sea mining to reiterate their support for this sensible legislation, including the NSW Liberals and Nationals, Independents and Greens, before the March election so that the offshore sea mining ban stays, whoever happens to govern.
"Coastal voters from the Hunter to the Northern Beaches have heard from the Labor Government about their position, and they need to hear the Coalition say that their strong position against PEP-11 still holds too," Mr Kirkman said.
