Aboriginal leaders and surfing and environmental groups today launched an alliance against the oil giant’s application to drill exploration wells – which was knocked back by the national authority last year.

“Given the state of the world’s oceans, the Great Australian Bight is rare and unique, an area of global significance, and deserves the utmost protection,” Sea Shepherd Australia managing director Jeff Hansen said.

Kokatha woman Sue Coleman Haseldine said oil drilling risked destroying her family’s way of life.

“If the bight is damaged, a major part of our food source would be gone, our health would be gone, our way of life would be gone and the places where we teach our children would be gone,” she said.

BP in November announced plans to rework its application after falling short of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority’s environmental standards.

Modelling commissioned by the Wilderness Society showed an oil spill in the bight risked closing all fisheries from South Australia to Victoria and Tasmania.

– AAP