Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

As I was stating, the government is committed to encouraging the safe and responsible development of Australia's offshore oil and gas resources. This includes the Great Australian Bight, where offshore petroleum exploration activities have been occurring since the 1960s and they've been occurring safely since then. You may be aware that 13 wells have actually been drilled in the region since 1972, and those were drilled in the region without any incident. Not only is the bight one of the largest underexplored basins in Australia, it is considered by many in the petroleum industry to be one of the most prospective new basins in the world.