Concerns repeatedly raised by the Australian Greens that Indonesian fishing grounds were contaminated by oil from last year’s Montara oil spill have been confirmed, following testing of an oil sample submitted to the Montara oil spill inquiry by Australian Greens Senator for WA Rachel Siewert.
“We first raised concerns in October that communities in Indonesia who rely on fish for food were being affected by this oil spill,” Senator Rachel Siewert said today.
“The response by the Rudd Government at the time was to play the reports down.
“In November, we released a video taken by Timorese fishermen that showed, using GPS points, that oil was polluting Indonesian fishing grounds between West Timor and northern Australia. Dead and dying fish and vast amounts of oil were visible in the video. (View the video here).
“The oil sample was posted to us by Ferdi Tanoni of the West Timor Care Foundation and was taken from this area.
“Despite the evidence, the Rudd Government has continued to dodge the issue, relying on doubt about whether the oil affecting Indonesian fishers was oil leaking from PTTEP Australasia’s Montara wellhead.
“This test result addresses that doubt. The oil impacting on these fishers was from the Montara well.
“The Commission of Inquiry must include this matter in its considerations including the need for reparations to affected Indonesian fishing communities,” Senator Siewert continued.
“I note that the Australian Government has already announced plans to conduct long-term investigations into impacts on Australian fish stocks that are commercially important and appear to have been affected by the spill, including fisheries based out of Broome and Darwin.
“The Australian Government should now commission investigations into the immediate and potential long-term impacts on Indonesian fishing-dependent communities.”
Note to editors: Results of testing by the Commission of Inquiry of oil samples submitted by Senator Siewert, as well as statutory declarations relating to the samples’ origins, can be viewed on the Inquiry’s website at: http://www.montarainquiry.gov.au/submissions.html.
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