Chapter 1The report
1.1On 19 October 2023, the Senate referred the Protecting the Spirit of Sea Country Bill 2023 (the bill) to the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee (the committee) for report by 28 June 2024.
1.2The bill seeks to amend the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 and related regulations to prescribe consultation requirements with First Nations people when proponents are preparing environment plans for proposed offshore energy projects.
1.3The committee was granted two extensions to report. The first being an extension to 30 September 2024 and the second to report by 28 April 2025.
1.4The committee published the details of the inquiry on its website and wrote to relevant individuals and organisations inviting them to make a submission to the inquiry. The committee received 23 submissions, which are listed at Appendix 1 and available on the committee’s website.
1.5The committee held one public hearing in Perth, Western Australia on 26August 2024. A number of other hearings were delayed due to external circumstances. The witnesses who appeared at the Perth hearing are listed at Appendix 2, and the Hansard transcript is available on the committee’s website.
1.6On 28 March 2025 the Prime Minister called a federal election for 3 May 2025. As a result, the committee has been unable to conclude the number of hearings it deemed appropriate to ensure it heard directly from impacted organisations, communities and individuals. As such, the committee does not consider it has gathered sufficient evidence to present a substantive report on this bill.
1.7If the Senate, in the next parliament, wishes the committee to continue its examination, the bill could be re-referred for inquiry subject to re-introduction. If the bill is re-introduced and re-referred, the evidence gather by the current inquiry would likely be available to the new inquiry.
1.8The committee thanks the organisations and individuals that made written submissions and appeared at the public hearing. In particular, the committee would like to acknowledge and thank the various First Nations representatives, individuals and groups that shared their insights and first-hand experiences with the committee.
Senator Karen Grogan
Chair