The Federal Government has ruled out permanently banning projects such as PEP-11 in Commonwealth-controlled waters despite calls to match a NSW Coalition pledge to introduce an equivalent ban in state-controlled waters.
NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean said on Wednesday that, if reelected, a Coalition Government would introduce legislation to ban offshore coal, gas, mineral and petroleum production in NSW waters.
"The NSW Liberal and Nationals government has been consistently opposed to PEP-11, which is why we are legislating our existing ban on offshore gas mining in NSW waters. That means that no proponents will be able to drill for gas in NSW waters," he said.
"Today, we're calling on the Albanese Government to back our plan and ban the drilling for offshore gas in Commonwealth waters as well. They are the ones that have reopened this issue as they need to match the NSW Liberals and Nationals in banning it because we want to protect our coastal environment."
PEP-11 is located primarily in Commonwealth waters between Newcastle and Wollongong and covers approximately 4500 square kilometres.
The action had been requested by the two governments and PEP-11 permit holder Asset Energy.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously slammed his predecessor's decision, made after Mr Morrison secretly appointed himself the resources minister, as legally untenable and borne of a dishonest and incompetent administration.
A spokesman for federal Resources Minister Madeleine King said on Wednesday that the Commonwealth had responsibility for regulating oil and gas around the country and that all regulatory decisions taken on offshore petroleum titles needed to be fair, constitutionally valid and in accordance with proper processes.
"The NSW Parliament, following the state election in March 2023, is free to legislate on issues impacting its own coastal waters - that is a matter for them," he said.
"The Australian Government has a longstanding legislative regime through the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act (2006) which allows for decisions to be made on offshore petroleum titles."
He said Minister King would not provide ongoing commentary on PEP-11 in order to protect future decision-making processes.
Surfers for Climate chief executive Josh Kirkman said the surfing community had been calling for a ban on offshore drilling projects for many years.
"There is now clarity on the state level that offshore oil and gas in state waters are off limits. Being a statewide law, it will stop rejected projects like PEP-11 from drifting up and down the NSW coast when local communities stand up against them," he said.
"This announcement really marks a turn in the tide of leadership towards ending offshore oil and gas exploration in Australian waters for good, seeing Australia on a trajectory to join other countries such as France, Denmark and New Zealand, who all have bans or moratoriums in place."
Mr Kirkman said a NSW ban would have implications beyond surfing.
"Our ocean supports local tourism operators, sustainable aquaculture and the nascent seaweed industry. All of these industries create jobs and boost growth in local economies for communities up and down the coast," he said.
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