LNP MP Llew O’Brien lashes Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest over renewables

A regional Queensland debate over high voltage renewable energy powerlines erupted in Canberra this week with LNP Wide Bay MP Llew O’Brien unleashing an expletive-ridden tirade at mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest.

The regional Qld clash over high voltage power lines needed for billion-dollar renewable energy projects has erupted at Canberra in a abusive stoush between LNP MP Llew O’Brien and Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest.

A regional Queensland debate over high voltage renewable energy powerlines erupted in Canberra this week with LNP Wide Bay MP Llew O’Brien unleashing an expletive-ridden tirade at mining magnate Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest.

Sky News reported the blow-up between the federal MP and Mr Forrest, one of Australia’s richest men, came at a meeting at Parliament House on Tuesday where the mining magnate called the LNP out of touch over its energy policies.

Mr Forrest, the executive chair for mining company Fortescue, had been briefing the party about his renewable energy plans.

He had previously called the LNP’s nuclear energy push “bulldust” and that it would delay the country’s transition to clean energy.

Following the briefing, Mr Forrest, Mr O’Brien, and fellow party members Matt Canavan and David Gillespie were left in the meeting room together.

Borumba Dam pumped hydro explained

Residents in towns and regions west of Gympie have been fighting against plans to run high voltage power lines across their land as part of the proposed 414 billion Borumba Dam pumped hydro project.

It is understood Mr Forrest made comments about how farmers affected by high voltage transmission lines could be compensated or find other places to farm, at which point Mr O’Brien let fly at the magnate.

Parts of the Gympie region, which is in Mr O’Brien’s electorate and where he lives, will be impacted by high voltage power lines connecting the multibillion-dollar pumped hydro facility at Borumba Dam to the state power grid.

Residents in the pathway of the lines are waging a campaign against them and Mr O’Brien said earlier this week the lines posed “a threat to communities, private property, vulnerable and endangered species, natural habitat, and vegetation in Wide Bay”.

“The regional community has expressed to me their fears that the Borumba project will destroy the beauty and liveability of their homes, create an increased fire risk, and cause the loss of native habitat and prime agricultural land,” he said.

Mr O’Brien first came out against the lines in 2023.

In Canberra on Tuesday, Mr O’Brien said people were being “pushed off their farms” by the projects, and called Mr Forrest a “f-----g charlatan” and a “f-----g snake oil salesman”, according to the report on Sky News.

The argument then descended into a stare off between the pair which lasted about 10 seconds, before things calmed down.

Both men are reported to have also called each other “gutless p----s” during the stoush.

Sky News reported a spokeswoman for Mr Forrest said “Andrew was calm and professional in the meeting”.

“But there was high emotions from the Nats in Queensland who are clearly passionate,” she said.

“Ultimately Andrew and the Nats want the same thing - what’s best for regional Australians.”

A $2 billion wind farm has also been proposed in the Tuan Forest, between Gympie and Maryborough, which would require transmission lines to run to the substation.

Landowners have also been pushing for a senate inquiry into the impact of building these power lines across rural and regional areas.