One Nation backs offshore gas project rejected by federal government twice
One Nation said Friday it would support the PEP-11 offshore gas project if commercially viable, despite years of community and government opposition.
Why it matters
This signals a potential shift in energy policy if One Nation gains power, and threatens an outcome many coastal residents and businesses have fought to prevent.
In Australia. For NSW residents along the Central Coast and Sydney coastline, One Nation's support could revive a project that would place offshore gas rigs in local waters, affecting tourism, fishing, and marine life.
Key facts
- Newcastle to Sydney coast
- Project location
- 2021
- Morrison rejection
- 2025
- Albanese rejection
- Mike Newman NSW
- One Nation leader
- One Nation backed the PEP-11 offshore gas project between Newcastle and Sydney.
- Surfers, environmentalists, and local MPs opposed it.
- Party leader Mike Newman said the party would not block the project if it could work, and that his party was pro-fossil fuel.
- Former prime minister Scott Morrison scrapped it in 2021.
- The Albanese government rejected it again in 2025.
- Surfers for Climate said the move dragged communities back into a fight they had won.
- Local MP David Harris warned about March 2027.
- A vote for One Nation means putting drill rigs back off the coast.
- Environmental groups say Australia has enough gas.
- They say the nation should export less instead of drilling more.
