Labor, One Nation Qld election clash over future of Tuan Forest wind farm

Two One Nation candidates’ call for a $2 billion wind farm between Gympie and Maryborough to be dumped has been slammed as a “dangerous, fear mongering” tactic by Gympie’s Labor candidate.

Two One Nation candidates’ call for a $2 billion wind farm between Gympie and Maryborough to be dumped has been slammed as a “dangerous, fear-mongering” tactic by Gympie’s Labor candidate Lachlan Anderson.

Two One Nation candidates’ call for a $2 billion wind farm between Gympie and Maryborough to be dumped has been slammed as a “dangerous, fearmongering” tactic by Gympie’s Labor candidate.

Wide Bay One Nation candidates Katy McCallum and Taryn Gillard on Tuesday called for the controversial $2 billion Forest Wind wind farm north of Gympie to be dumped, claiming it was a threat to wildlife.

In a joint statement, Gympie One Nation candidate Ms McCallum and Maryborough One Nation candidate Ms Gillard claimed the community did not want it.

“Labor and the Greens are destroying our natural environment in a perverse effort to save it,” Ms McCallum said.

“Only in Queensland can a government get away with destroying huge areas of habitat for threatened species to accommodate a bunch of toxic wind turbines, while ignoring community pleas to dump the project.”

Forest Wind proposes to build about 200 turbines on 195,000ha in the Tuan Forest, about 40km north of Gympie and directly south of Maryborough.

Wide Bay One Nation candidates Katy McCallum and Taryn Gillard are calling for a controversial $2 billion wind farm at the Tuan Forest to be dumped saying it threatened to destroy wildlife instead of saving it.

It was originally proposed to be running by 2023 but has since stalled over environmental questions and changing ownership.

The project is now not expected to be built until 2026 at the earliest.

In response to the statement, Gympie Labor candidate Lachlan Anderson said the call was a “blatant attempt at discrediting the renewable transition in Queensland, and is a dangerous, fearmongering tactic to derail critical action on climate change”.

He said Labor “expects renewable energy developers to invest in, and help deliver local infrastructure upgrades and community benefits” and the state’s “nation-leading mandatory code of conduct for renewable energy developers, which was legislated this year, holds developers to the highest standard and ensures they contribute to building community infrastructure and delivering community benefits through proper engagement with locals”.

“If renewable developers want approval to build renewable energy and connect to the SuperGrid, they must demonstrate how they will work in partnership with the local community, and how they intend to deliver community benefits, including upgrades to infrastructure,” Mr Anderson said.

One Nation candidates Taryn Gillard and Katy McCallum are running for seats held by Labor and the LNP respectively and largely considered safe thanks to margins of 11.9 per cent and 8.5 per cent. They have accused Labor of not listening to regional voters.

“Less than 1 per cent of the total pine plantation will be cleared to develop this project. At this site, more than six times the proposed area of the wind farm is cleared every single year as part of the timber harvesting operations.”

Incumbent Maryborough Labor MP Bruce Saunders said there was no state government money involved in the project, and any decision on its future was now in the hands of the federal government.

Ms McCallum and Ms Gillard, who are running for seats held by the LNP and Labor respectively and largely considered safe thanks to margins of 8.5 per cent and 11.9 per cent, accused Labor of not listening to regional voters.

“The community doesn’t want more than 200 wind turbines almost 300m tall spreading across parts of Gympie and Maryborough like some sort of malignant cancer,” Ms McCallum said.

“This is no mere plantation area.

“It incorporates about 12,000ha of native remnant and regrowth vegetation and is home to a number of threatened species, including the critically endangered regent honeyeater and vulnerable glossy black cockatoo and giant barred frog.”

The $2 billion proposed wind farm was originally expected to be up and running by 2023, but it now not expected to be operational until 2026 at the earliest.

Ms Gillard said communities were “being kept in the dark about the Forest Wind project” but would have to live with it if built.

“The whole process has been secretive,” she said.

“A partner has pulled out, and a government-controlled corporation has stepped in.

“Laws have had to be changed to accommodate it.

“Consultation with the community has been limited, as always, to project managers just telling affected home and landowners what’s going to be done.

“The community doesn’t get a say in a matter that directly affects the value of their homes, the amenity of their community and their mental health.

“Their concerns about safety and fire risks, and about impacts on tourism and the local economy, have gone unanswered.”