By Tom Housden
BBC News, Sydney
An energy giant has been accused of covering up the severity of an oil spill which allegedly killed dolphins off Western Australia (WA) last year.
A whistleblower's statement read out in parliament this week alleges dead dolphins were found floating near the oil slick caused by Santos last March.
Santos has previously denied the deaths were connected to the spill from its Varanus Island facility.
The Australian firm is yet to respond to request for comment.
The company last April told the WA Today newspaper the incident was a "minor spill" with "negligible" environmental impact.
In November it added that the dead dolphins had been sighted "a couple of hours after" the spill, arguing it would have been too early for their deaths to result from it.
But the whistleblower claimed the company couldn't know for sure as it did not send environmental experts to the island until more than a week after the incident.
The statement from a former Santos employee was read out by independent Senator David Pocock on Thursday.
The employee said the Lowendal Islands, some 75km (46 miles) off the WA coast, is known for "pristine white sand beaches", "gorgeous blue turquoise water" and "abundant marine and bird life".
But in the statement he said sea snakes had "writhed in agony" and marine life had suffered after some 25,000 litres of condensate leaked from an underwater hose.
"I was then shocked at the public comment from Santos," the whistleblower said.
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