Summer is in full swing and I'm loving being able to go surfing and take my son for a play in the waves.
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I grew up in Newcastle on the New South Wales coast, and as a young girl I found confidence and learned to embrace being wiped out by waves, left gasping for breath in the white water.
As with many families living up and down the coast, the ocean acted as a glue, bonding mine together.
It was also where I came to love the resident pod of dolphins that patrolled the beach northward at 9am and back again at 10am, each and every day.
I know many of us in Australia share this feeling of deep connection with our stunning environment.
Mine only deepened as I was able to introduce my son to the ocean and beaches I love so much.
It's my love and respect for the ocean that has driven me to join the fight to stop the industrialisation of Australia's most populated stretch of coastline.
The federal government has until Friday to decide whether to extend a licence to allow exploratory drilling for polluting gas just off the NSW central coast.
The Petroleum Exploration Permit 11 , or PEP 11, area stretches over 4500 square kilometres of ocean, from Manly in Sydney's northern beaches to the Central Coast and beyond, past Newcastle to Port Stephens.
Alarmingly, the PEP 11 project has been described by the title holder, Asset Energy, as "imminent".
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro and federal Resources Minister Keith Pitt are deciding whether to extend the licence.
They should be feeling uncomfortable.
It's clear that local communities up and down the coast do not want gas mining in their waters.
Politicians in coastal seats, representing all the major parties at state and federal levels, have listened to their constituents and now oppose the project.
Coastal waters play host to rich biodiversity, thriving marine life and a booming tourism and fisheries industry which all need protection.
The reality is that gas is a dangerous fossil fuel.
New gas fields, whether offshore or onshore, are unnecessary when we live on one of the sunniest and windiest continents in the world and have abundant renewable energy.
Australians do not want industrial gas rigs off our favourite beaches, threatening the animals and sea creatures we love, or our farmland being drilled into by multinationals.
This is a reminder to keep pushing for urgent action to protect the places where we live, work and play, and the places we love.
Belinda Baggs is a professional longboarder, a co-founder of Surfers for Climate and surfing ambassador, Patagonia.