Nationals want ban on wind, solar farms until they’re automatically assessed under EPBC Act
The Nationals say major renewable energy projects should be stopped until tougher approvals are in place.
The Nationals are escalating their war on wind and solar farms, demanding a moratorium on all large-scale renewable energy projects until they undergo “proper approval processes” by the federal government.
In a push that gained early support from the Liberal Party, the Nationals federal conference passed a motion on the weekend calling on the government to “place a moratorium on all large-scale renewable energy projects until the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act … is amended to automatically refer all commercial-corporate renewable energy projects to the EPBC Act approval process”.
Queensland Nationals senator Matt Canavan said large coal mines and coal seam gas projects already underwent “a ready made stringent approval process”.
“The environmental impact of a wind farm is just as significant as a large coal mine, especially given the wind farm takes up even more land,” he told The Australian.
“We should have a ‘no regrets’ approach to the environment. We don’t have proper approval processes in place for large-scale renewable energy projects. Let’s get them in place first before we destroy our natural environment.”
NSW Nationals MP and Coalition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce said there was “red hot sentiment” in regional areas where people felt they were “powerless against wind factories, solar factories and this new cobweb of transmissions lines that’s destroying the environment and landscape”.
“People have been run over by foreign-owned wind farms and governments using their powers to get corridors through and then flipping the deal to foreign-owned transmission companies,” he said.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said all energy projects, including renewables, were already assessed under the EPBC Act. There were more than 100 renewables projects currently being assessed.
“The Nationals are doing everything they can to stop Australia’s transition to net zero, even preventing farmers from receiving income from renewable projects on their own land,” she said.
Government sources said wind and solar farm projects were treated just like big coal mine or CSG projects – if they impacted on “protected matters” like endangered species, they went through a full assessment process. If they didn’t, they were waved through.
If a coal mine or CSG project affected ground or surface water, they were automatically sent for a full assessment because it was deemed a matter of national environmental significance.
The Nationals motion, which was put by the Queensland and NSW divisions, also asks the government to “examine the environmental impact of the mining and refining of resources for renewable energy generation, of land clearing required for renewable energy generation, and the disposal or recycling of all renewable energy infrastructure”.
In a win for Nationals leader David Littleproud, a motion calling for the abolishment of the party’s net zero emissions by 2050 commitment was heavily watered down to “acknowledge that the world is moving to a lower carbon economy, and adopt a policy that will reduce Australia’s Co2 emissions in collaboration with the rest of the world”.
While not wanting to comment specifically on the Nationals renewable energy moratorium motion, National Farmers’ Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said there should be no doubt about the large concern over the charge towards renewable energy and the “collision course” with agriculture and rural communities.
He said farmers didn’t have faith in the “already complex” EPBC Act, which was “bent towards protecting the environment and not enough about recognising the role farmers and landholders play in managing the landscape”.
“Farmers have been screaming for better processes and recognition and only recently has the government decided to show they are vaguely listening,” he said.
“The government needs to do much better in terms of recognising the grief it’s causing. Whether through the EPBC or some other measure, they need to articulate how they plan to address the intersection of the single-minded drive to renewable energy with their stated support to grow agriculture and regions. At the moment they are coming across as disingenuous and confused.”
Opposition environment spokesman Jonathon Duniam, a Tasmanian Liberal senator, agreed there should be “appropriate assessments and approvals” for renewable projects just like for a mining project.
“If Labor and the Greens were serious about balance and our future as a nation, they’d have supported our inquiry into these matters in the Senate,” he said.
“Many Australians have been in contact about the disastrous consequences of some of these renewables projects denuding animal habitats and locking up the farmland we have left.”
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