Labor urged to give farmers certainty by releasing renewables review
Energy Minister Chris Bowen faces calls to release the government’s review into how new renewable energy projects will impact regional communities and farmers.
Nationals leader David Littleproud and the peak farming body are calling on the government to release its review into the impact of renewable projects on productive agricultural land and regional communities, with the opposition accusing Labor of “hiding behind secrecy”.
The Community Engagement Review, investigating the impact of renewable projects and infrastructure on landowners, was announced by Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen on July 4 last year.
It was led by Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner Andrew Dyer, and a report was presented to Mr Bowen at the end of last year. Mr Littleproud is now seeking to access the document through Freedom of Information laws.
The review was aimed at providing advice on how to best engage with communities on the development of vital energy infrastructure, including First Nations people.
“Labor is pursuing a reckless 82 per cent renewables target by 2030, which is driving up costs and threatening productive agricultural land and regional communities,” Mr Littleproud said.
“Minister Bowen has previously stated Labor needs to install 22,000 solar panels every day, or 60 million panels by 2030, and 40 wind turbines every month to reach its target.
“Labor will also require 34 times the current amount of utility-scale variable renewable energy in the national electricity market to meet its hydrogen ambitions, on top of 28,000km of transmission lines.”
Mr Littleproud said that public disclosure of the Community Engagement Review was now crucial to assess how projects could potentially impact on the price of food.
The National Farmers Federation is also saying that landowners “don’t want to see these projects being prioritised over growing food and fibre”.
NFF president David Jochinke said the review was a step in the right direction, but argued it needed to dispel the uncertainty hanging over the heads of farmers.
Victorian farmer Ben Duxson – who has 8500 merino sheep as well as canola, barley and wheat on his 5500-acre farm in Kanya, Southern Wimmera – told The Weekend Australian that planned transmission lines needed for the Victorian to NSW interconnector would go through his farm.
Mr Duxson, whose family has lived on the land for six generations, said while landowners would be compensated for the transmission lines, the new infrastructure would still undermine the ability of farmers to use their land efficiently while posing new fire hazards on properties.
“As farmers, our efficiency in farming is far more important than any compensation we could get,” he said. “Labor has to go back and re-plan. They are not thinking about the environment or the social or financial impact and my message to Labor is ‘start again’. Food and fibre security, sustainability, and affordability are all in jeopardy if this plan goes ahead.
“This is just bulldozing through communities that don’t want anything to do with it,” he said.
A spokesman for Mr Bowen said the government received the Community Engagement Review late last year and would release it shortly.
“We know Australia needs better implementation of good community engagement practices, which is why this report will be released shortly once the government has considered the report findings,” he said.
“The opposition spent 10 years trying to stall the transformation to a cheaper, cleaner, more reliable energy system and failed to make the necessary reforms to improve how our nation-building energy projects are rolled out in communities.
“The Albanese government is taking a different approach by working with communities, jurisdictions and the sector to get it right.”
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