Assessment of BP’s Bight oil drill plan secretive and weak, Senate told

The government's 'one-stop-shop' devolution of approval for the project lowers environmental standards and reduces transparency, senators told

Risky deepwater drilling for oil in the Great Australian Bight is being assessed under a weak and secretive regulatory regime, the Senate has heard. Senators were also told the project would have a much smaller economic benefit than the industry had suggested.

BP, the company responsible for the world's biggest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, is seeking approval to drill for oil in the bight after its initial application was knocked back last year.