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.

The bight is a haven for whales, sea lions and other marine life. It supports a large fishing industry and much of it is covered by nature reserves.

The Senate inquiry was told the assessment of BP’s application to drill in the bight lacked transparency and was subject to weaker environmental requirements since the federalThe view of Yaraktinskoye field before and after wildfires. Picture: Vkontakte

A peak of two million hectares were on fire around 22 September in eastern Siberia, with 'around 900,000 hectares are still on fire today', said Greenpeace, amid concern for children breathing fumes for weeks on end. Students have been sent home from 18 schools in Irkutsk region.

Global warming and 'the ineffectiveness of the authorities' was to blame for the 'unprecedented catastrophe in Siberia', said spokesman Alexey Yaroshenko.

Yet again there is a gulf in estimates of the burning forests between the authorities and environmentalists, with the Russian federal forestry agency suggesting the much lower figure of 125,000 hectares had been hit.

The Siberian Times recently highlighted the claims of 'hidden wildfires' not included on official statistics.

Abnormal, dry weather, and almost