Environment activists are taking legal action against the government for refusing to release environmental assessment documents for petroleum exploration off the coast of South Australia.
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The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is challenging the decision in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal after it sought access to an environment plan and assessment documents for Bight Petroleum, which is conducting seismic testing in blue whale feeding grounds near Kangaroo Island.
The case will test the transparency of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Authority (NOPSEMA), which in 2014 replaced the environment department as the environmental regulator for the offshore oil and gas industry.
The authority, which said it had released 26 documents but withheld five, objected to the release of the full plan and its assessment because it could reveal its decision-making process for granting the exploration permit.
The authority, which is overseen by the Department of Industry and Science, also told IFAW that releasing the documents would "unreasonably affect" the commercial affairs of Bight Petroleum.
The government has been under fire from environment groups for granting petroleum exploration licences while it reviews Australia's network of marine reviews.
Elaine Johnson, a solicitor with the Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) NSW, which is handling the case, said "without the full plan there is no way for the public to ensure the company is meeting its obligations under the law".
"And without NOPSEMA's own assessment of Bight Petroleum's environmental plan there is also no way for the public to verify if NOPSEMA is properly fulfilling its regulatory functions," she said.
IFAW marine campaigner Matt Collis said under the previous department of environment system, a detailed environmental impact statement would be published before approval was granted if there was a risk the project would affect the environment.
"As a precursor to all the one-stop-shop ideas [for environmental approvals] this highlights the potential for lack of transparency and lack of ministerial oversight," he said.
A department spokesman said the withheld documents contained information that fell within statutory exemptions under the Freedom of Information Act.
The spokesman said the IFAW was "entitled to exercise its legal rights to seek a review" and the authority would cooperate with the tribunal to "ensure that the tribunal makes the correct or preferable decision".
