Greens Senators Richard Di Natale, Nick McKim and Peter Whish-Wilson will today join Tasmanian surfers in calling for a ban on oil and gas exploration in the Great Australian Bight.

Senator Di Natale said, "Today we’re standing with surfers and other oceangoers in saying no to oil and gas in the Great Australian Bight.

"It's just not worth the risk to our marine environment and to our climate.

"The fossil fuel era is coming to an end. This means companies are chasing the last oil and gas into deeper and more dangerous waters than ever."

Australians love their coastlines and oceans. From sightseeing to surfing, from fishing to sailing, the marine environment is a big part of our lives and our identity.

But our oceans are under serious threat. Global crises such as climate change and plastic pollution are compounding the local impact of overfishing and oil and gas exploration. We must act if we are to protect the two-thirds of the planet covered in water.

Greens Healthy Oceans spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, has urged the Federal Government not to intervene in Queensland’s Shark Control Program after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal ordered an end to lethal shark culling in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “I urge the Federal Environment Minister to put our oceans first and listen to the scientific evidence that killing sharks does not make oceangoers safe.

“Lethal methods of killing sharks only provide a false sense of security.”

Healthy Oceans spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, today praised the order from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal which will see an end to Queensland's shameful lethal shark culling in the World Heritage-Listed Great Barrier Reef.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, "Lethal shark measures are indiscriminate killers and weapons of mass destruction to protected marine life.

"This is a massive win for our Great Barrier Reef and for healthy oceans."

Greens spokesperson for Waste & Recycling and Healthy Oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, says dire predictions from WWF that plastic pollution is set to double by 2030 could be avoided with federal legislation.

Senator Whish-Wilson said, "Australia’s recycling industry is in crisis and plastic pollution is choking our oceans. 

"Enacting federal legislation with real teeth and achievable recycling and packaging targets will provide a national framework for local councils and state governments to enforce.

Greens spokesperson for Waste & Recycling and Healthy Oceans, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, and the Environment spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, today released the exposure draft of a Bill that bans single-use plastics, helps tackle our current waste and recycling crisis, and reduces the toxic plastic pollution that is choking our oceans.

The Product Stewardship Amendment (Packaging and Certain Plastics) Bill 2019 will establish a mandatory product stewardship scheme that:

Greens Healthy Oceans spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, said the findings of a CSIRO-led study, linking climate change to the abundance of krill in the Southern Hemisphere, are a gloomy reminder of the harsh impacts of climate change.

“Our oceans are facing their greatest threat in history from climate change, plastic pollution and overfishing.

“Our oceans are warming at a rate never before seen, up to 90 per cent of global fisheries are either overfished or fully exploited, and there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050.

The Senate Environment & Communications References Committee inquiry report into the Great Barrier Reef 2050 Partnership Program was tabled today by the Chair of the inquiry, Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson. 

Senator Whish-Wilson said, "This was the Senate at its best, acting swiftly and working cooperatively to scrutinise, in full, government policy of significant public importance.