Sticking to principles
The editorial in last Tuesday's Age (September 2) supporting the Norwegian oil giant Statoil's proposed deep sea oil exploration off our pristine coast was outrageous and disrespectful.
It was reminiscent of an arrogant colonial power of the 19th Century condescendingly trying to appease unhappy locals with a
fait accompli spin.
People power stopped nuclear armed and powered warships coming here. People power will stop oil exploration off our pristine coast. As with stopping nuclear ships, stopping oil exploration might cost us in the short term, but sticking up for one's principles is always the right thing to do and will prove the people to be the winners in the long run - especially with a polluting substance like oil.
Norway has done exceptionally well out of oil (with obvious cost to our planet) and they obviously don't want to stop now. So much so Statoil's monster off-shore drilling rig Transacean Spitsbergen has started drilling in the Arctic ocean near a nature reserve on Bear Island in the pristine Arctic environment.
