Cyclone Barnaby’s war on renewables could put the wind up the Libs

The crowd outside Parliament House gave Barnaby Joyce a hero’s welcome on Wednesday morning when the former Nationals leader told them to build a movement that could topple the Labor government. What he did not tell them, though, was that they might only trouble the Liberals.

“You’re coming out and you’re gonna change our nation,” Joyce hollered from a makeshift podium on the lawn. Their cause? To stop every wind and solar power project in regional Australia. “Change your local electorate, change your state, and we’re going to change what happens in this building.”

Illustration: Simon LetchCredit:

The “rally against reckless renewables” only drew about 400 people to hear Joyce and a handful of other Nationals speak about the threat to prime agricultural land from wind turbines and solar panels, so it does not look ready to sweep anyone out of office.

But it displayed a hint of the anger from the lockdown years. At least two red ensigns stood above the crowd, giving the protest the look of a sovereign citizen rally from the pandemic, and a few people called out complaints about vaccine mandates. Others had genuine concerns about the rollout of wind and solar because the questions about the community impact are real.

“You’re the army,” Joyce told them. “This is the start.”

Nobody knows, just yet, whether this “army” can win any battles. The overwhelming majority of Australians want action on climate change and 61 per cent backed the Labor target to cut carbon emissions when it was set in law at the end of 2022. That goal, 43 per cent by 2030, will not be overturned by a small gathering on the parliament lawn.

Joyce, however, is a political survivor who knows how to whip up a crowd. He was ridiculed for claiming – falsely – that households would have to pay $100 for a roast under Labor’s carbon price in 2011, but he was in government within two years and was deputy prime minister by 2016.

So the power play on “big wind” is not to be dismissed. This political hill has a whole lot of wheels that are turning at once.

Joyce is energising the Nationals, perhaps in the dream he can become leader again, and he is getting a reaction because the party leader, David Littleproud, hardened his language against renewables at this week’s protest. Littleproud not only agreed with the idea of a halt to new wind and solar projects but called for a retreat on the 2030 target.

That’s a problem for Peter Dutton. The opposition leader has tapped into some of the community anxiety about renewables, with a visit to Nelson Bay in NSW last October to warn about offshore wind towers, but he needs to be careful on climate change. He voted against the 2030 target but says he supports net zero emissions by 2050.

While the Nationals think they can shore up their support in the bush, Dutton needs more votes in the cities. A moratorium on wind and solar will not help the Liberals convince urban voters they are serious about climate change. It will not blast the “teal” independents out of parliament.

A core group behind Joyce, including long-time allies such as Queensland senator Matt Canavan, will step up the campaign against “net zero heroes” because they are openly sceptical about action on climate change. Even if Joyce does not plan a return to the leadership, Littleproud has to deal with the unrest.

The more the Nationals agitate, the greater the fracture within the Coalition over yet another climate war – just as the Nemesis documentary on the ABC reminds us what the last one looked like. Dutton has a vague proposal about nuclear energy, of course, but it is hard to see the Liberals winning with a message that demonises wind turbines and promises nuclear power stations instead.

The pressure on Labor caucus members is also a factor because they cannot afford a backlash in regional seats. Meryl Swanson, in Paterson, has the wind project off the coast from Nelson Bay. The turbines could be 290 metres high, although the industry says they will be 40 kilometres offshore and will not harm the environment, will not interfere with fishing and will not spoil the view of the horizon. Will the community accept those assurances?

Senator Matt Canavan during the rally against renewable energy in front of Parliament House on Tuesday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Energy Minister Chris Bowen is acknowledging the problems with planning. He released a report last week from Andrew Dyer, Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, and accepted nine suggestions on how to fix the system. He promises a better process but dismisses the Nationals’ call for a moratorium.

Dyer basically warned about a land grab when developers stake a claim to projects that will be along the corridor of new transmission lines. “As a result, there are far more potential renewable generation projects being pursued by developers than the proposed transmission lines may actually accommodate,” he concluded. This infuriates people who feel taken by surprise.

In Victoria, the VNI West transmission line to the Murray River has changed route several times and worried communities with each new route. Infrastructure Minister Catherine King, the member for Ballarat, expressed her concern about it to the regulator.

Another example is the worry in the NSW Hunter Valley about the scale of construction. Dyer cited a council estimate that it would have to widen the roads to allow 10 oversize truck loads every night for the next decade along the highway to Dubbo.

In Queensland, Steve Nowakowski objects to the Chalumbin Wind Farm on the Atherton Tablelands because it is too close to native forest. He heads Rainforest Reserves Australia and was once a Greens member. He was at the protest on Wednesday.

Grant Piper, a farmer in the NSW Central West, has been told his farm must take a 330-kilovolt power line over five hectares along towers that will be 70 metres high. He was at the protest on Wednesday.

While the community concerns are real, that does not mean the scare campaigns will be right. Once Joyce gets moving with the “reckless renewable” army, there is an obvious risk of a reheat of the $100 roast. The fact is that some farmers want the renewables because they make money, and some communities want the projects because they get a dividend.

In the NSW town of Walcha, for example, the Winterbourne project is paying $1 million to the community before construction and $750,000 a year once it starts operating. This is not just for those with turbines on their land.

Australia will need renewable energy to supply 82 per cent of its electricity by 2030 if it is to honour its climate targets. That will not happen without more wind turbines, solar farms and power lines. And, chances are, it will not happen without another round of the climate wars.

David Crowe is chief political correspondent.

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