Supporters of a push to prevent offshore petroleum drilling projects such as PEP11 say the state government's refusal to support a ban are based on hypothetical scenarios that are unlikely to eventuate.
A NSW parliamentary committee released on Tuesday its report from the inquiry into the Offshore Drilling and Associated Infrastructure Prohibition Bill 2023.
The proposed legislation would have made NSW the first state to legislate a ban on offshore oil and gas mining.
However, the committee recommended that the Bill should not be passed.
It argued that key aspects of the bill may be constitutionally invalid or have unintended consequences.
"The focus of this inquiry has been to examine the environmental impacts of offshore drilling and also identify risks with passing the legislation. The inquiry has revealed that the legal framework regulating offshore activities in the state is complex and there are serious risks that could result in negative consequences for the State," committee chairman Clayton Barr said in the report.
"Amendments to the bill were also considered. However, the majority of the committee is of the view that amendments would undermine a core purpose of the Bill. Therefore, the Committee has recommended that the bill not pass."
But the bill's supporters said many of the risks identified in the report were either hypotheticals that were unlikely to occur, or could be remedied with minor amendments and without undermining the intent of the bill.
"We are disappointed by the findings of the committee. Coastal communities have been campaigning together for years to protect the NSW coastline from the PEP11 project, which would have significant impacts on our climate and marine life if it proceeds, and these communities deserve a gas-free coastline," Wilderness campaigns manager Victoria Jack said.
"The International Energy Agency says there can be no new oil and gas projects if the world is to reach net zero by 2050 and avoid the worst impacts of climate change. The NSW government should listen to the community, and forge a pathway forward to bring about the end of offshore fossil fuel exploration and mining."
Shadow environment minister Kellie Sloane, the sole Coalition committee member, said she believed the Labor government never had any intention of supporting the bill.
"Labor MPs up and down the NSW coast promised their communities they would fight against PEP11, but when the opportunity came they chose politics over people and the environment," she said.
"This is a betrayal of coastal communities who expressed significant opposition to these offshore gas and oil projects in NSW," said Ms Sloane.
"The Minns Labor Government is using the excuse of an entirely hypothetical future fight with the Albanese Labor Government to vote against this important Bill that would have given our coastal communities certainty."
