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n Australian court has decided to proceed with the lawsuit filed by a group of fisherfolk demanding compensation for environmental damage caused by oil spills in the Timor Sea, turning down a request to abort the case from the company that is allegedly responsible for the damage.

The Federal Court of Australia in Sydney ruled on Tuesday that Daniel Sanda can represent thousands of seaweed farmers in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) in the lawsuit against PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP Australasia), the operator of the Montara oil field that had a huge spill in 2009.

“Judge John Griffiths, who is in charge of the case, said at Tuesday’s hearing that he accepted the lawsuit filed by Daniel Sanda, who represents 13,000 NTT fisherfolk standing against PTTEP Australasia,” the chairman of the advocacy team of the victims of the Montara oil spill contamination, Ferdi Tanoni, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday night.

He said judge Griffiths’ order was made in response to the objections of the defendant, who challenged the legitimacy of Daniel, a seaweed farmer, in representing the group of fisherfolk.

Ferdi said the ruling was based on the Northern Territory Supreme Court’s regulation that acknowledged the rights of representation.

The class action was filed by Daniel, representing himself and thousands of other affected farmers, who are seeking more than A$200 million (US$149 million) to compensate for the alleged damages.

The fisherfolk said that their livelihood was destroyed in the explosion at PTTEP Australasia’s Montara oil rig some 690 kilometers west of Darwin and 250 km southeast of Rote
Island, NTT, which resulted in gas and oil from the rig gushing into the Timor Sea for more than 70 days.

It is estimated that more than 300,000 liters of oil per day contaminated the sea, equivalent to pouring 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools of toxic sludge daily into the ocean.

In October, PTTEP Australasia refused Daniel’s lawsuit and filed objections with the Australian court, requesting that the court abort the lawsuit. The company said Daniel did not have the right to represent and to act on behalf of all seaweed farmers in NTT.

With the court order, the Australian court is set to proceed with the case.

The Indonesian government said that it is preparing a separate lawsuit against the company.

The government said PTTEP Australasia refused to allocate funding as compensation for corporate social responsibility, even though the company initially agreed to do so in discussions with a joint independent commission tasked with managing the case.

The lawsuit will be managed by the Environment and Forestry Ministry and the Attorney General’s Office.

Aside from the lawsuit, the government has also called on Australia to help find a solution to manage the oil spill.