Whale Song not Gas!

Millions will take to the streets in a global mobilisation to #EndFossilFuels from September 15-17 as political leaders meet in New York City for the UN Secretary General's 'Climate Ambition Summit'.  In Melbourne a rally for Whales not Gas is being organised by Extinction Rebellion and Allies of the Victorian Coast to bring the song of the whale to the city and drown out the proposals for Seismic Blasting in the the Otway Basin off the Victorian Coast.  The rally will meet at Enterprize Park, Flinders St, CBD 4.30 - 6.30pm on Friday 15 September. Schlumberger-SLB and TGS have lodged plans with the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) to seismic blast over a record 5.5 million hectares of sea between Victoria and Tasmania. This project would see marine life will be subjected to 220-250 decibel explosions of sound, louder than a bomb blast, every 10-12 seconds for several months.  This blasting is deadly for all marine life and can impact all levels of the food chain from its very foundations, killing zooplankton more than a kilometre away, to deafening whales that come to these water to calve every year.Australia’s south-east seas are full of marine treasures, from southern right and blue whales, seals and bluefin tuna, to kelp forests and unique deep-sea corals.  The majority of the species are not found anywhere else and are already under threat from climate changes that have seen the water warming 3-4 times the average.Calling for protection for Gunditjmara sea country from seismic blasting for oil and gas is an alliance of groups led by the Southern Ocean Protection Embassy Collective (SOPEC). Today we bring you excerpts of conversation from Bunjil's Fire radio show on Wednesday 8 August between Gunai Kurnai broadcaster Bunjileenee Robbie Thorpe and Yaraan Couzens Bundle - First Nations artist and dancer of Kirrae Wurrong/Gunditjmara heritage who is a spokesperson for the Southern Ocean Protection Embassy Collective.