Activist breaks his skull

A HIGH-PROFILE Fight for The Bight activist has been hospitalised with an apparent broken skull in an overseas surfing incident.

Damien Cole, a Surf Coastbased political candidate and environmental activist, was surfing in Bali when his head collided with either his surfboard or the reef, his friend Anne Marte said.

Ms Marte launched a GoFundMe page on Tuesday to raise $20,000 to cover the cost of the uninsured Mr Cole’s extensive surgery and hospital bills following the incident.

“Yesterday, Damien was supposed to have his last surf before heading back to Australia and his board hit his head. His skull is broken and needs to have surgery as soon as possible as his eyebrow bone is exposed. He is currently in a Bali hospital,” Ms Marte wrote.

“This trip he had planned to just head to Vietnam and refuel after a long year of fighting for the Bight and running election campaigns with the sole goal to protect the environment. He decided to spend one week in Bali to do what he loves — surfing.

“He has always had insurance but this time around because he hadn’t planned to go to Bali he forgot.

“So now Damien is looking at a hospital bill that might well exceed $20,000 and now it is time we reach out to help this guy that always helps others. “

In an early morning update yesterday Ms Marte said Mr Cole’s skull had been pieced back together “like a puzzle”.

Mr Cole has made international headlines this year for his activism in opposition to a proposal by the Norwegian company Equinor to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight.

The activist has also campaigned for election as an independent in both recent state and federal elections, with a strong focus on environmental and social issues. He won 5 per cent of the primary vote in Corangamite at the May federal election.