The Australian Greens are calling on the SA Government to stand with coastal communities, tourism and fishery industries in protecting the Great Australian Bight marine park from high-risk oil drilling by Statoil.

The Labor and Liberal parties have voted against protecting South Australia’s pristine Great Australian Bight just days after it was revealed that they’ve been taking donations from the very companies that want to drill for oil there, the Australian Greens say.

The Nick Xenophon Team cannot be trusted to stand up for South Australia, the Australian Greens have said, after it was revealed that Senator Xenophon has removed his demand for additional environmental water in negotiations with the government on the ABCC Bill.

“Nick Xenophon has just sold South Australia down the river,” South Australian Senator and Greens’ water spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“He’s letting South Australia and the River Murray down, just so he can cosy up to the Coalition and help them to rip rights away from hard working Australians.

The potential for an Australian Battery-Boom will be analysed after the Australian Greens established an inquiry into the ‘Resilience of Electricity Infrastructure in a Warming World’.

“Severe storms have battered the southern states in recent weeks and we’ve seen the supply of energy in South Australia take a hit as a result,” Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said.

“The relentless march of dangerous global warming means that these sorts of extreme weather events will only become more common in the future.

South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has welcomed the news that BP have decided to drop its plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight and has vowed to work with the government to protect this natural wonder from all oil and gas exploration.

“BP have said goodbye to the Bight, I say good riddance to BP,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

“This is a great win for the community who made it clear that BP weren’t welcome from the beginning.

“BP should never have been given an exploration permit, especially considering the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has said that the release of the preliminary Australian Energy Market Operator report into the SA storms has shown that renewable energy was not to blame for the state-wide blackout and will move a motion, supporting renewable energy in her state, when the Senate next sits.

“This report makes it crystal clear that the storm caused South Australia’s blackout. Anyone saying otherwise is only doing so for cheap political reasons,” Senator Hanson-Young said.