Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan confident on wind project despite federal veto

Jacinta Allan says ‘unacceptable’ risks to wetlands can be mitigated, and is confident the Port of Hastings project will go ahead.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan. Picture: David Crosling

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says the “clearly unacceptable” risks to internationally significant wetlands identified by federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek “can be mitigated” and she remains confident that her government’s Port of Hastings terminal for the offshore wind industry will go ahead.

Ms Allan also confirmed Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio and her federal counterpart Chris Bowen have been in contact to discuss the implications of Ms Plibersek’s decision on a project which is crucial to state and federal renewable energy targets, despite both ministers being on leave.

The Australian revealed on Monday federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has ruled the Allan government’s plans for an $800m-$1.4bn terminal to build offshore wind turbines at the Port of Hastings poses a “clearly unacceptable” risk to local wetlands.

At a minimum, the decision will significantly delay Victoria’s plans to produce at least 2GW of electricity via offshore wind by 2032, 4GW by 2035 and 9GW by 2040 – all of which underpins the state’s renewable energy target of 95 per cent by 2035, and the Albanese government’s target of 82 per cent by 2030.

Asked why the Hastings terminal should take precedence over wetlands which have been declared environmentally significant under the international Ramsar Convention, Ms Allan dismissed the notion that it was a binary choice.

“This project went through our own state-based environmental approval processes, like all projects do, and where it triggers the federal (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation) processes, that’s where the federal government has a role to play in that environmental assessment,” Ms Allan said.

“We, through the Port of Hastings proposition, felt that the environmental impacts can be mitigated, and this is quite a common practice that goes through project approval processes, where you can put forward mitigations so that you can, particularly for projects like this, support and protect the environment, but also support the development of a project that is also about protecting the environment, because it provides that transition for renewable energy.

“That was the proposition that we put through that approvals processes that had that trigger of the federal approval processes. We were confident, and we remain confident.

“We will review this decision and go back to the federal government, because we believe that with the right mitigations you can deliver a project like this successfully.”

Addressing the media in flood-affected Seymour, 90 minutes north of Melbourne, Ms Allan said frequent, intense natural disasters highlighted the need for urgent action on climate change.

“The climate is changing, and we have to act, and we have been acting here in Victoria, particularly to transition our energy source towards renewable energy, which is about both supporting climate action and supporting energy security,” she said.

“That’s why we have been working very hard on adding offshore wind and supporting the development of offshore wind as part of that renewable energy mix, and it’s part of working towards renewable energy targets that we’ve set.

“It’s also part of the federal government’s priorities in terms of achieving their own federal renewable energy targets.”

Asked whether the government should have seen Ms Plibersek’s rejection coming, given it blocked the construction by AGL of a gas terminal at nearby Crib Point in 2021 due to similar concerns about the impact on the wetlands, Ms Allan said her government was taking the advice of experts.

“Our expert advice when it comes to the Port of Hastings project was that it could be achieved with those mitigations that were being proposed,” she said.

“We will work with the federal government in terms of the back and forth. We do need to have, in order to be able to achieve federal renewable energy targets, in order to achieve a greater percentage of our energy mix coming from renewable energy sources, in order to support the jobs that come from these projects, in order to achieve the energy security that communities and businesses are going to need into the future, we need more of these projects, and to achieve that, through approval processes, we do need to work towards that full partnership with the Commonwealth on the approval processes.”

Since 2014, federal environment ministers have issued just five “clearly unacceptable” notifications out of a total of 5000, making Ms Plibersek’s decision to reject the state Labor government’s proposal exceptionally rare.

Asked whether the government should be embarrassed by Ms Plibersek’s decision, Ms Allan said it was for the federal minister to explain the reasons behind her decisions, “particularly when it’s set against other decisions that federal governments have made on other projects in other states.”

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen. Picture; Jacquelin Magnay

Asked whether the fact that Ms D’Ambrosio, Mr Bowen and Ms Plibersek are all on leave shows that Labor is not prioritising sorting out an impasse on a project both levels of government say is crucial to addressing the urgent issue of climate change, Ms Allan said she has spoken to Ms D’Ambrosio “at length” on Monday.

“I know that since she has been notified of this decision, she has been working around the clock, and again, I won’t speak for the actions of other ministers in another government, but I know she has made contact with the federal Energy Minister, and I think what’s more important here is not who’s where,” the Premier said.

“What’s more important here is the action we’re going to take, and the action we absolutely intend to take is to pursue this matter with the federal government.

“We remain undeterred that this is a good project. “We remain undeterred that this is a project that can be delivered, with appropriate mitigations that … mitigate the environmental impacts.

“It’s been through our approvals processes, that can demonstrate that.”

Asked how quickly she believed a solution could be found, and whether it was inevitable that Ms Plibersek’s decision would delay some of the offshore wind projects that are essential to Victoria meeting its renewable energy targets, Ms Allan said: “Those questions will come in time as we work with the federal government.”

State opposition energy spokesman David Davids said it was clear Ms Allan had not “come to grips with the seriousness” of Ms Plibersek’s rejection of the project.

“The first step in finding a solution is to acknowledge the problem posed to the offshore wind plans and accepting responsibility. It is not helped by sticking your head in the sand,” Mr Davis said.