Protesters, as part of the For Our Future campaign, blocked morning peak hour traffic on Punt Road Bridge. The protest stands in solidarity with the Gunditjmara People, the traditional custodians of the lands on which places such as Warrnambool, Portland and the Twelve Apostles sit, who are fighting against seismic blasting and off shore gas exploration off their coast lines - Gundjmara Sea Country.
This comes a day after a rather gutsy effort in which protesters brought their opposition to Viva Energy's proposed Corio Bay gas terminal to the CEO's front door (or, er, rooftop). Two people were arrested for that action and later released to appear in court at a later date.
TNG/SLB-Schlumberger had previously submitted proposals to seismic blast the south west Victorian coast. However, these plans were axed late last year after multiple sections of the community - conservationists, surfers, environmentalists, fishermen and so many more with support of the Gunditjmara People - kicked up a massive stink against the proposal, thus killing its social license. When you have such a diverse array of groups all saying 'no' to something, you know its on the nose.
Nevertheless, other gas exploration companies are still circling, with Geo-technical company CGG looking to seismic blast much of the same area TGS were looking to do. Somehow, I don't think the local community is going to take this lying down either.
There was plenty of support for the action from passers-by.
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